Sitting on the dock of King's Lynn

2011-11-05T12:35:00.000Z

Hey people!!!Please note that I've moved this blog over to WordPress - you can find me HEREYou can also check out my new "Home on the InterWeb" HERECome visit me in my new place:)

Sandringham in the early spring

2011-01-23T18:06:00.000Z

Sunday was the first Farmers Market of the year at Sandringham, and I thought I'd go along. January markets are normally small (and some places don't open in January at all) but it's not that far, and I thought I could combine this with a walk in Sandringham Park.

As I approached the Visitors Centre I was amazed at how many vehicles there were parked on the grass verges, and outside the church. Turning into the Visitor Centre parking, the first lot of bays were all full, but there was plenty of space in the second, and I parked, got out, and then realised that I really should have brought some other shoes with me - the ground was squelchy after the rains of the last few days, and my walking boots will be getting muddy!

I went first to the Farmers Market - as expected it was quite small - maybe 10 or so stalls, and there were only a few people at the stalls themselves. Having said that, there were plenty of people around and I would not be surprised if there was a steady flow of people getting food on the way back to their cars.

Although only few in number, there was a nice selection of items on sale: pies from Mr Kew, Venison products from Fen Farm, hand made cheeses from Lymn Bank Farm. local vegetables, fudge, another pie maker, and a couple of other stalls.

Having made my purchases and stored them in the car, I set off for a walk in the Park. This is a popular spot with dog walkers, young families and cyclists, but even so it is easy to get away from people noise when one walks into the wood.

I followed a path through the trees which was springy underfoot from pine needles - this part of the park is planted with firs. Especially at this time of year, when there is little undergrowth, it actually looks and feels very regimented - very like a plantation. Coming out of this area I cross a wide area cleared of all trees, possible a fire break, and then I go back into the forest on the other side, and the pines give way to a more mixed woodland.

Here and there are places where people have collected bracken and made "dens", and there are paths leading in every direction. There are also signs of new planting - one area had a number of tubes sticking out of the ground, each one of them protecting a new young tree. Also among the undergrowth there is the occasional holly bush, bright green against the surrounding brown.

I complete a circular walk of maybe 2 miles, and then back to the visitor centre, where I go into the shop, just to look around. It's also warm in the shop! I go on to look at the small plant shop they have here, and think about buying one of their pots planted with spring plants and bulbs, but in the end decide against.

And so back to the car and home - a short trip, but a productive one:)

Cliffs and Beaches - Hunstanton, Norfolk

2011-01-22T06:54:00.001Z

It was what seemed like the first bright winters day for ages, so I decided to go to Hunstanton for a walk.

I parked on the cliff road, put on my hat and gloves and set off. Walking along the grass here I come to a small formal garden with a nice wooden carving of a dog, which I'd not seen on my previous visits, although it looks like it's been here a while. This is just by the remains of St. Edmund's chapel, and I see that there is a quiet area the other side too - but it's too cold today to sit and contemplate I think! Moving on I come to the old lighthouse, and I wonder how it would be to live there - right on the cliffs edge, and amazing views from the tower over the Wash and back over Norfolk too I'm sure. Just along from this are a few "normal" houses, but I suspect they are too far back from the cliff edge to have a sea view. I do briefly look at the cafe here to see if they open, as would be a nice place to stop after my walk for a warming coffee - but they look like they are closed for the winter, which, I suppose, is only to be expected.

My aim is to get to the beach, so I set off at a brisk walk down the somewhat muddy path that leads down to the bottom of the cliff face. When I get to the ramp down to the sea, I spot that there is a walking route continuing up the other side of the cliff - this might well be a good walk to take another time, but right now I have my heart set on sand!

So I get to the beach - the tide is still a fair way out, but it's coming in, so I do need to keep an eye on that as I walk towards Hunstanton. The clifs here are an amazing sight - at the top white chalk, but this abruptly changes to red limestone - called "red chalk" around these parts. The stratification is amazing and quite outstanding.

Walking along the beach in the winter is different - I well remember being along this stretch of coast in the summer in shorts and tee shirt, and taking off my sandals to paddle on the water line and collect shells. Now I need my coat and thick walking boots, but these do make it difficult to walk on the soft sand, and I don't want to get them wet from the sea, so I try for a middle ground of hardish damp sand to walk on.

The cliffs here are home to a large number of birds, not only the seagulls one would expect, but I also spot some pigeons there. Further along I come to the wreck of a boat, and I recall hearing about before. It is the wreck of the "Sheraton" which started life as a trawler but was later moored on the other side of the Wash to be used as a target ship in the Second World War. But she broke free from her mooring in a gale and drifted on to the beach here - even after scrap dealers had most of the boast a section of the hull still remains here.

I am watching the tide come in as I approach the start of the Hunstanton promenade - should I go up there, or will I be safe on the beach for a while yet? I decide to walk along the beach - it is the reason I came here after all - and I start to climb over the groins that are now a feature of the beach. These are interesting, as they form a barrier against which the tide washes up flotsam. But what really gets my attention is one corner made by the sea wall and a groin, a flat piece of sand with innumerable mussel shells lying open, and looking to all the world like a collection of butterflies!

I decide it's time to get up onto the prom, so climb some steps which take me to an area where there are some beach huts all in a row. These are obviously being cleaned for the new season, and the doors are open - so I go look inside them! They have 4 beach chairs, a counter area with a pucket and a washing pail, and I see they also have an electric outlet - very mod-con-ish!

I continue on here, under the pier head (which does not have a pier) and then double back on myself to walk to my car. Rather than follow the road, I cut through the green and up to public gardens. I notice that the park benches here have, rather than the standard uprights, a serpent (or eel?) device holding the back and the seat in place - very cute.

Walking through the park I do see that the cafe here is open, but decide after all not to stop for a hot drink - my walk on the beach was not as cold as I had thought it might be.

And so back to the car, and drive home - a nice sunny winter's day walk in Norfolk.

They're off!!!!

2011-01-02T12:55:00.001Z

I’ve never been to a horse race meeting, so when a Twitter buddy commented that they were going to Fakenham Races on New Year’s Day, I thought that this would be a new thing to do in the New Year!

When I woke and saw the grey skies and drizzle, I wasn’t so sure, but I got out my trusty walking boots and packed dry trainers in case I got too muddy, wrapped up warm and set out. Fakenham is about 25 miles from King’s Lynn, and a straight trip across country. As I’d been seeing the New Year in and so got up late, I didn't stop for breakfast at home, but thought I’d stop at one of the cafes along the way in one of the villages. What I hadn’t thought about was that it WAS New Year’s day and nothing was open – well, I’d just have to wait till later and eat at the races.

At one point on the drive the drizzle turned to actual rain, and I wondered about my decision, but that cleared up and I kept on. I found the racecourse without any problems, and was soon driving along to the “member’s car park”, an odd title actually, as it’s open to anyone, you just have to pay parking, which you don't in the outer car parks. But is does mean it’s less far to walk! We were sat in a queue for a few minutes, until one of the stewards started directing us to another compound to park, and then I was there!

As I got out of the car and put my hat on, I noticed a lot of people changing into wellington boots, and hoped it wouldn’t be THAT muddy. The first race was already on, and as I approached the rail the horses were galloping by – and suddenly this was real and I was actually there on the mud of the racecourse!

I was in the “enclosure”, which had its own bookies and cafe, but I went on and paid the extra to get into the Grandstand and Paddock. By the time I got through, the first race was over, so I headed to the “Norfolk Picnic” area to get a very late breakfast. There I wished Happy New Year to Sarah from Brays Cottage, and got a chilli flavoured pork pie to keep me warm.

Back to the grandstand and the second race has about 5 minutes to the start. I look at the list of runners – one was called “Knight Legend”, and so I took that as a sign and decided to put a bet on it.

When I’d watched racing on the television, I’d seen the rows of bookmakers each with their own pitch, and sure enough, here they were, all showing their own odds for the horses. Whilst I know little about gambling, I knew enough to be able to put the minimum bet on Knight Legend each way, and then holding my betting slip tight I went and joined the crowd at the rail.

Fakenham race course is gently undulating, and from where I was I couldn’t see the start of this race, but the commentator gave us the off, and soon I could see the horses in the distance as they rounded the first bend to the far side of the course. Soon they were took the near corner, and galloping by us, with Knight Legend in 4th place. They passed us a second time with my horse still in contention, and then finally they came past us for the last time, and Knight Legend finished 2nd!!! Woo-Hoo!!!!!

I excitedly went to the bookies and collected my winnings – which because of the odds were exactly the same as my stake money – well, at least I wasn’t down yet!!

The cold was starting to get to me, so I walked around a bit and watched the horses from the race being lead, steaming, back to the paddock, and the next horses being made ready for the race. In the third race there was a horse called “Erin Dancer”, and since one of my favourite singers is called Erin, I put a bet on this one too. This time I stood in the grandstand to watch the race, but my horse came in 4th, so no winnings this time.

There were 4 more races, and without any names jumping out at me, I went and looked at the horses in the rink, and made a decision to bet on that basis, and actually I did fairly well with all the rest of my choices being 2nd or 3rd – not bad for someone not following form or really having any idea what they were supposed to be doing!

In between races I walked round and queued for coffee to keep me warm. It wasn’t actually that cold to be honest, well above freezing, but it just got to me after a while, and my feet in particular were getting cold. I also had a hot dog with mustard for “lunch”, which was not the best thing I've ever eaten, but at least it was hot.

With the last race coming along I was £0.50 down on the betting for the day, and I went and looked at the horses in the parade ring. One called “Along Came Rose” caught my eye, and the odds were 8/1, so I did another each-way bet, and went up to the grandstand for the last time. For the longest time it looked like my horse was not going to be anywhere, but in a racing finish she managed to finish 3rd!

I went and collected my winnings and ended up the day £0.70 to the good! Fantastic – although I don't think I’ll try and make a living from betting! Then I joined the crowd leaving the course, and was soon really pleased to be back in my car with the heater on.

It was a good experience, and a nice new thing to do on New Years day! I have no idea if Fakenham is representative of other courses, but I found the crowd a happy one and the whole event to be enjoyable. I also learnt that I need to put thicker socks on in future!

The King's Lynn & West Norfolk Daily is now out

2010-12-27T15:21:00.000Z

Top stories:

King’s Lynn morris men make merry on Boxing Day - News

Traditional Sandringham Christmas gathering but without Prince William and Kate Middleton

http://paper.li/DerekKnight1/1293231085

A Cold December Day

2010-12-21T12:05:00.000Z

Yesterday was pretty magical in King’s Lynn.

Unlike most of the rest of England, we do not have snow at the moment, but it has been VERY cold with temperatures not getting above freezing for several days. Yesterday morning it was slightly foggy, and when I went out in the back garden to put out some food for the birds, I was struck by the amazing effect of the frost on the bushes. Not only was each branch and twig white with frost, when you got up close you could see that the frost crystals were standing out clear and bright from the branches.

After breakfast I wrapped up warm and took went out for a walk, but even before I got out of the gate to our courtyard, I was stopped by the sight of the small cobwebs frozen like ribbons of pearls – even the small lichen on the stonework were picked out in frost.

By this time the fog was lifting, and although there was sun above me, across in West Lynn it still looked murky, but even so the trees on the other side of the river were bright white, and I could see frost on the other riverbank. Turning to walk along South Quay, I came to a stop by a tree in a neighbouring courtyard. I was aware this tree was there, but to be honest I could not have told you anything about it – but today it looks magnificent – full of red berries, and white frost, it just looked like something an artist had produced, much too perfect to be real.

Although it was below freezing, the air was still, and it was exhilarating to walk along the Quayside, watching the patches of ice flow downstream, the only sound being the crunch of my boots on the ice. As I came to the place where the Mill Fleet joins the main river, I stopped and looked over the bridge. The stream was running, but where the tide had receded, the banks of the river were sheets of ice, and the reeds and other plants standing in frozen status.

Along this part of the walk I came upon another tree that I would not normally have remarked on – but the sight of this small tree picked out in white against the old buildings here was spectacular – like some form of abstract art.

I walked down Nelson Street and round to Priory Lane, and here was an amazing “man-made” sight – from the top of a 2 story building all the way down to the pavement was a solid icicle – I have no idea where the water that made it was coming from, but it covered the whole wall and downstairs window – it must have been REALLY cold inside that room.

Walking on I then doubled back through the churchyard of St Margaret’s church, and as I walked under the trees it was almost as if snow was falling – but actually, it was the frost falling off the trees. At St Margaret’s I stopped to light a candle, and then carried on along Queen Street before completing the circuit to come back into our courtyard through the alley from Three Crowns Yard.

But even here was something new to look at – on the iron work gate the frost had formed horizontal spikes on one side only – I have never seen anything quite like that before.

Back home it was nice to be in the warm again, but the walk made me grateful that I get to see all these wonders of the world.

New blog post - Christmas Farmers Market.

2010-12-04T15:32:00.000Z

Here is a link to my latest blog on a Christmas Farmers Market here in Norfolk

NFL in the UK

2010-11-02T10:52:00.000Z

Last year I started watching American Football on the net, and they talked about the "International Series" - two NFL teams come to London to play their competition match, so I bought a ticket! Fast forward several months, and the match was last Sunday.

From here in King’s Lynn it’s quite easy to get to Wembley - the train down to King’s Cross, and then the Tube over to Wembley Park - that is, unless there are engineering works on the line which mean that there is a bus replacement service for part of the route, adding about an hour to the journey time. Which there was on Sunday. So I decided to drive over to Peterborough, and get the train from there.

This part of the journey went well, and I even managed to do a bit of Twittering whilst I was on the train. This part of Cambridgeshire is very pretty, with big open fields and trees which were just turning colour. It’s also very flat mostly fen land, and I could see rain clouds in the distance, which we passed through and then on out.

Getting to King’s Cross I went down to the Tube station, and was amused to see lots of NFL team shirts - seems I wouldn’t be alone on the terraces! I was less amused, as the platform got more crowded, to hear the announcement that there had been a signal failure, and all trains were delayed. This held us up maybe 30 minutes, but eventually the happy throng of supporters arrived at Wembley Park station, and headed off to the stadium.

I’d not been to the new Wembley, and was truly impressed by the sight of the arch and the stadium itself as the crowds walked along to it. I wanted to get a sweat shirt I’d seen in the promotional leaflet, and stopped at one of the concession stands along the route, but they were out of them, so I carried on and found my entrance easily - I was very impressed with the signage here!

Going through the gate and after the security search, I got my first glimpse of the ground through one of the entrances, and I was probably grinning from ear to ear - there is just something about a big event in a big stadium that makes me smile! Before going into the seating, I waited at one of the souvenir stands for a sweat shirt - I saw they had one on display. When I get to be served, I find that the one on display is the only one they have left! It’s a medium, and I really wanted a large (I like to wear these things loose) but after a moment’s hesitation I bought it anyway - yes, it WAS expensive (£40!) but it was also what I wanted.

Then I went in and found my seat - But stood for a bit to take it all in - giant balloons of the San Francisco and Denver helmets were at each end of the pitch, and there were players warming up, and dancing pom-pom girls - it was still 45 minutes before match time, and that time was filled with music and entertainment. San Francisco was the “home” team, and so we all had SF 49er flags. The seats were filling up rapidly now- next to me were a man and his young son, who were Denver Bronco fans, and there were a lot of people wearing the shirts of various teams, but I got the impression that most of the crowd were neutral on the outcome of the game - we just wanted a good one!

I had wondered if they would do the normal thing of having the US national anthem, and indeed they did unfurl a big Stars and Stripes flag and had a singer perform the anthem. Then they unfurled a Union Jack, and someone played it, with some of us singing alone.

And then the game - well, I’m not a sports commentator, I can’t tell you who made which plays, and certainly won’t do any stats! But as a spectacle, it lived up to my expectations from watching on the net. The actual play was somewhat slow in the first 3 quarters, picking up more in the last quarter, but there was a lot to keep us entertained in the mean time. One thing I’d not realised was that the US NFL games were being played at the same time as ours, and the latest scores and video clips were being shown on the big video screens. One of the people behind me was a St Louis Rams follower, and got excited when the Rams were shown to be leading!!

I was getting cold on the stands, and as I’d not eaten, I went out during the 2nd quarter and got myself a hot drink and a hot dog - very American!! As I said, most of the action in the game came in the 4th quarter, and the 49’ers ended up winners 24 to 16. Those in the seats around me were mostly British, but I did detect a few American accents in the crowd - I’m sure if I was an American living over here it’d be a “must do” thing to go to the match!

Overall it was a great day out - I had intended to get there earlier to go to the tail gate party, but the time I spent in Wembley - from around 4 pm till the game finished just after 8 - was well worth it. A fun time, and the crowd was so well behaved - and I forgot to mention the Mexican Wave that went round the stadium 4 to 5 times!

A new Month

2010-10-03T15:20:00.000+01:00

I see that we have a new - free - glossy mag in King's Lynn, called "KL Magazine" - I guess that's a case of "it does what it says on the tin". The most interesting article for me was the one on Captain Vancouver.

Before I moved here, I wondered why Lynn had a shopping center named after a place in Canada - and then I found out that the place in Canada was named after a son of Lynn - Captain George Vancouver. What I find really amazing about that time in our history was how people made those sorts of trips - if your only experience of the sea is the Wash and the North Sea, the wide Atlantic, and the truly HUGE distances involved in a trip like the Captain's just stagger the mind.

The last two early mornings (not that early, I'm talking 7am) have been really pretty here in Lynn. Although the days have been wet and wild, as I've come along the river at that time it's been crisp and bright - and both days with that really clean and rain-fresh smell that just makes it good to be alive. And then by mid-day it's raining again - ah well.

oh my - July

2010-09-29T15:25:00.000+01:00

Hi readers :)

Sorry to be away from the bloggersphere for so long - be back real soon - promise

Old Hunstanton beach walk

2010-07-05T11:34:00.010+01:00

A couple of days ago was one of those days when I wake stupidly early, and just need to move. And as it was already sunny and bright, I decided to jump in the car and go walk on the coast.

I headed for Old Hunstanton - this is maybe just a mile or so along the coast from the more touristy Hunstanton with its funfair and "attractions", and is more of a "local" beach. As it was very early the roads were blissfully clear and open, and I arrived on the beach just at 6am. The tide was on the way out, but still fairly high when I got there. I took off my shoes and headed to the shore line - how good to feel sand between your toes and the sun on your body!

The beach was empty apart from the birds that flocked on the receding water line, and I ventured out to walk just where the waves were still gently lapping against the shore. I needed some shells to complete a small decorative project I'm working on, and soon my pockets were bulging and wet from the wonders I found!! I kept telling myself to stop - but then finding "just one more" perfect specimen, which I simply had to collect.

All this time the water is slowly going further and further out, and I'm soon in areas with seaweed growing. It's really intriguing how, although the sand is basically flat, it's not a uniform flatness. There are rises where the sand has already dried out, and then streams that cut channels through making deep gulleys. It's easy to see how these sands can be dangerous for the unwary - I know from my experience how fast the water comes in at hight tide, and these high areas would soon become sandbanks surrounded by water.

The sun continues to rise over the coast line, and as I walk towards it I am mesmerised by the brightness and the colours. Behind me, I can see the coloured Hunstanton cliff with the bright white lighthouse on top, a truly iconic picture.

After walking for some time, I spot in the distance the first human I've seen on the beach so far - a solitary man walking his dog up on the top of the beach. I wonder what the time is, and am shocked to see it's already almost 7 o'clock - I've been walking for an hour without really noticing!

So I turn and set off back along the beach to where I've left the car. Only then do I really appreciate how far I've actually come! Rather than the slow wading I've been doing, I walk on the firmer sand so that I can pick the pace up a bit. I see more people walking dogs on my way back, and also one family starting their day on the beach early.

It's past 8 when I get back to the car - I'd left it parked in splendid isolation, but now I have builders vehicles close in front and behind me - thanks guys!! But I get out OK, and am soon on the road again, but this time with more traffic heading into town.

I turn the local radio station on, and listen to the morning show - full of weather reports and traffic news - a total contrast to the basic elements of sun and water I've been immersed in for the last 2 hours.

By now I'm feeling really tired, so I'm glad when I get back to my riverside home, and can drop back into bed - sandy and damp, slightly smelling of sea air, but SO contented with my lot in life.

POSTSCRIPT

After I washed and dried the shells, I had enough to complete what I'd wanted them for, and some over! They are now used as decorations around the place, and the larger shells I've used as candle holders for night lights - I smile every time I look at them!

Sitting by the river

2010-06-28T09:40:00.004+01:00

I met a friend this morning and we sat on one of the benches overlooking the river and talked for a while. The river was just at high tide as we sat there - the wind was causing ripples on the water, but there were also still areas, giving the impression of currents in the water. We talked about how we had both occasionally seen times where it looked as if the tide was moving up stream in the centre of the river, and downstream at the far bank - neither of us are really sure if this was real or an optical illusion, but nothing about this river would surprise me!

We both became aware at the same time of a black shape over near the other bank - and neither of us said anything because it was not clear if it really was what we thought it might be. Then suddenly it dived, and so yes, it was a seal! I'm told they are not uncommon in this part of the river, but this was the first one I'd seen.

We continued to sit as people went by on their way to their offices, and I felt very fortunate to be able to just sit and watch the water go by, and see the ferry shuttle back and forward, carrying workers and shoppers over to this side of the river.

Just then my friend said he'd seen a fish jump, which is not a normal occurrence here. Then I saw one jump too a bit further downstream, and then there was another and another. Really unusual - was the seal hunting them and they were jumping to get out of harms way? Who can say, but it made for an interesting few minutes.

Sometimes the Quay can be a cold and windy place, and you rush along it to get out away from the weather. But on a sunny and warm summer morning, it is a place to stop and relax, and just enjoy the peace.

Sculthorpe Moor June 2010

2010-06-11T07:59:00.012+01:00

After a really warm and sunny period, it had suddenly turned wet over the last few days, but I decided to head out anyway and visit the Sculthorp Moor nature reserve.

The journey was uneventful, but as I neared Fakenham the mist came down, and I ended up driving with my lights on. Arriving at the parking lot, I walked through the Visitor Centre and had a quick talk with one of the volunteers, who told be all the hides were open, and pointed out the web cam pictures of the Marsh Harrier nest complete with chicks.

I walk out towards the Scrape hide first which talks me through the woodland, and I stop to look at the flowers growing there - it is lush green, and these pinpoints of colour really stand out. In particular the wild foxgloves are really amazing with their intricate hanging trumpet-like flowers.

Further along, the land opens out and I'm among tall reeds, and then the path takes me out to the river Wensom, and along that for a way until I reach the hide. Walking in here I see there is one other person already there, and I'm just about to say hello, when I somehow let the door slam behind me! not a good thing for a bird watcher!!

This hide overlooks a stretch of wetland, and my new companion tells me that the water level is a lot higher than it had been, following the thunder storms of the last couple of days, and I also hear that the kingfishers did not survive the hard winter. Over in the distance I get a view of a kestrel on the wing, and then a group of Mallard chicks appear on the water in front of us. Another person joins us - a real birder by the look of the equipment he is carrying. He tells us he's on vacation in the area and lives up in Scarborough.

I spend about 45 minutes there, just watching the birds and occasionally talking with my companions, and then head out to the next hide, with views over the marsh land where the Harriers are nesting.

This hide is more populated with men with big lenses, and it also has a webcam link showing the Marsh Harriers nest.

This is excellent, as we can see and hear the chicks on the screen, and then as the adult leaves the nest to hunt, look outside and see it swoop away. I watch it for a long time with my binoculars, and manage to get a couple of pictures too. Nearer to the hide is a feeder, with smaller birds feeding - tit's which are common in my garden too, and also what appears to be a pair of bullfinches. As we watch, one of the volunteers goes out to put more seed onto the seed table - and nearly slips on the wet tree trunks.

In the distance I suddenly see a pheasant break cover and fly for a few feet before disappearing into the long grass again. Soon a couple of pheasants are under one of the feeders eating the spilled grain.

People come and go from the hide, and eventually I am getting to feel cold sitting there, so I collect up all my things and head out. There is another hide along this path overlooking woodland, but I decide that I've had enough for one day, and take the longer path back to the visitor centre. It's only when I get inside again that I realise just how chilled I'm become outside, and I'm pleased that they have nice bathrooms:)

I talk once more with the volunteer, and decide to become a "friend" of the reserve - I get to come in free, and they have a quarterly newsletter - plus I get a sticker for my car!!!

So I'll be back soon to check on the progress of the birds and wild flowers - and hopefully in warmer weather.

A bike ride to Castle Rising

2010-05-18T08:44:00.004+01:00

It was another perfect sunny Saturday morning, and I decided to take a trip along the national cycle route that runs through Lynn, Heading out along the Quay I was soon through The Walks and out on what is called the Sandringham Railway route – which actually runs for a few miles along the route of the old railway line from Lynn to Hunstanton. This is a popular path, but I imagine most people are busy with their weekend chores, and not many people are about. Soon I reach the main Lynn to Cromer road which I cross, and then it's back on a cycle path before the route turns and takes me through South Wotton.

This little village is mainly fairly new housing, and being close to Lynn and the main access routes, whilst also being quiet and in the middle of countryside, is popular for families to settle in. The cycle path takes me through the park, and out by what for me is the village's main claim to fame - the pyramid.

Now, a pyramid isn't something you'd necessarily expect to see in the the Norfolk countryside, and this one is maybe 6 feet tall, and on closer inspection, I see that it was put up to mark the Millennium – other places had fountains, or clock-towers – the Wottons chose a pyramid to mark the coming of the new century – and why not?

At this point the cycle route joins the road again, and this is the village street as we get into North Wotton, and then out of the village to open country. As it leaves Wotton, the road climes a small wooded slope, and a couple of cars pass me. I know that the impression of Norfolk is of a very flat county, and whilst there are certainly no mountains, most of the countryside is gently rising and falling, so there are slopes, and occasional hills. As I cycle up the slope, I see that a group of 5 joggers running down the slope towards me. As they get closer they move to the side and I move out to pass them, and it is one of the joys of cycling that I can say thanks to them as I pass, and we acknowledge each other as human beings, not just more traffic on the road. At the top of the slope this small lane joins a slightly larger road as we approach my destination for this trip, Castle Rising.

As I cycle into this tiny hamlet, the first thing I see is a tea room, and so I stop here, go in to get a coffee, and sit outside at one of the tables and enjoy the sun. From the garden here I have a good view of the castle. Now, I have to admit something here – in my head I compare every castle I see with Dover Castle – I was brought up in Dover, and that castle dominated the town, and is really extensive and colours my expectations on any other castle.

But I am here and as I look up at Castle Rising Castle I have to admit that it does bare some similarities with my beloved Dover Castle – it is at least real 12th century stonework and has impressive surrounding earthworks. I decide to go cycle up to the castle after this rest stop, but first I observe the people around me in the garden. I see that another cyclist has stopped here, and there are a few tables of people enjoying the sunshine. One couple at the other side of the garden are busily pouring over what I take to be details of houses for sale – what a nice thing to be doing on a sunny Saturday! The other cyclist gets up to leave, and we share a few words about the cycle route – she is on her way to Sandringham, and I have been that route so am able to assure her that it just crosses the main road at one point, otherwise it's on country lanes and cycle paths.

Having finished my drink, and utilized the bathroom facilities, I head up the hill – yes a real hill! - to the entrance to the castle. The car park is filling up I see, not unexpected on a day like this, and I get off the bike to walk down along the earthworks. I decide not to go into the castle itself, although from what I can see it's evident that there is a lot of preserved stonework there – maybe another time I'll go inside and explore more.

I then head back into the village, and stop at the church of St Lawrence. This church also dates back to the 12th century, and I am encouraged to see that the building is open for people to walk around. Inside it is white and bright, full of flowers, and with the sun shining through the stained glass windows, it is a very uplifting place to be. I spend some minutes admiring the building and in quiet thought before going back outside and walking around the building looking at the ancient – and not so ancient – grave stones.

I then free-wheel down the hill past the War memorial and stop at the bottom to examine one of a number of unusual looking street lights that I've observed around the roads. They are eight sided wooden posts, and although thy have an electric light in them, they almost look like they could have been originally gas or even oil lamps – the signage on them says the following:
“Erected by the people of Castle Rising as a memorial of the Great War 1914 - 1919”

I make another stop as I reach a kissing gate that the bike won't go through, so I chain it up and walk up the path through a field to see if I can get anymore glimpses of a very unusual looking building I've spotted on top of the rise – a kind of peach coloured frontage, with inset statues. Returning to the bike, I find the saddle covered by ladybirds, which I gently encourage to move back onto the fence, before setting back off home.

I make one final stop in South Wotton on my way back to get a cold drink from the village store – and find the people serving are extremely welcoming and pleased to serve – actually makes me want to go visit them again!

I'm home in time for lunch – a very pleasant way to spend a morning in this very pleasant part of the world.

Stormy River

2010-05-03T12:44:00.004+01:00

I know I keep on about how great king's Lynn is, but the weather here is really changeable. Today when I woke up it was bright and sunny, but soon the wind started getting really strong and the clouds came skudding over.

It was nearly high tide, and the wind and the rain made the water really stormy - so I made this short video from my window. And you know - even then it's a good view:)

Spring

2010-04-28T09:57:00.005+01:00

Spring is really here in King's Lynn and as I passed in the bus yesterday I spotted the formal gardens at the London Road end of The Walks, so I decided to go back later to check them out.

It was a really warm and pleasant evening, and I went first for dinner at the Chinese Buffet in Station Road, before walking down to The Walks, By this time the clouds had come over a bit, and it was starting to get dark, but even so the path leading from London Road to St John's Church was just a blaze of colour on each side, and then ending with a tree in blossom just outside the church:

This is a truly amazing display, and in particular I thought the vibrant blues here were particularly stunning:

The Walks is always a nice place to visit, but right now it's an amazing one!

High Street

2010-04-06T05:06:00.005+01:00

King's Lynn High Street goes from Tuesday Market Place to Saturday Market Place, and is a pedestrian street only - in my mind just as well, as it is a narrow street, and with traffic would be dangerous and noisy - as it is, it's quite pleasant to walk along and look at the shops.

Starting at the "Tuesday" end you come to some fine old Bank buildings - one of which is now a Nando's restaurant, but the architecture is the same. This top end of the street it is normally full of shoppers, many of whom park in Tuesday Market place. One interesting thing is two charity shops on either side of the road facing each other! I was also kind of amused to see an "Edinburgh Woolen Mill" shop here - 300 or so miles from Edinburgh! It's also home to Marks & Spenser and McDonald's which must be two of the most visited locations in town.

Shortly we have Norfolk Street on the right, and then we come to a collection of smaller shops, including a Chinese herbalist which I have yet to have the courage to go into! My experience with these places is mixed - I like the idea of them, but the one occasion I got something from one of them, the treatment was worse than the thing I was trying to cure!

This part of town is also the place where there are a number of phone shops - why they are co-located is interesting - is this a deliberate policy I wonder? And then two card shops face each other across the street - again I wonder if this is deliberate. This part of High Street is home to a number of clothing shops, and is consequently busy during shopping hours.

High Street is then crossed by New Conduit Street, and on the corner is a building which looks to me like it was designed to be a cinema - just something about the style of the place gives me that impression. Actually, it's a men's cloths store!

From here the street get quieter, and the main shopping attractions are a general store and a department store, although this are also a number of empty locations, including one large pub building which has been empty for a long time. It's not all bad news, however, with one of the stores being newly redecorated, and recently opened as a cards and accessories shop.

As we reach the end of High Street there is another charity shop, and an "old fashioned" sweet shop, with jars of sweets that are sold loose. Then we come to the corner of Saturday Market place and the Wenns with their signs for forthcoming music acts.

The long term locals tell me that High street is not a patch on what it used to be, and I'm sure that is the case. But as one coming new to the town, I have to say that it has survived as a mixed community of shops a lot better than many High Streets I've seen, and remains an attractive place to visit.

A Random Trail

2010-03-27T13:49:00.000Z

This is a strange walk in a way – when I returned and looked at the map it seemed I'd been in among houses all the time, but it felt like it was mostly green open land – I guess it comes from being on footpaths, rather than on roads.

Anyway, I started off along the quay and cut through Boal Quay parking lot, and then through the streets between there and London Road. The houses here are an interesting mix of ages – a few 17th century cottages still remain, but the bulk are Victorian or Edwardian, with some in-fill building within the last 50 or so years – so one can walk along a terrace of solid Victorian 3 stories houses, and suddenly come upon a side street with a courtyard of 1990's build apartments.

Reaching London Road I cross at the first available place, and see in front of me a tiny alleyway - it's only about 3 feet across, and on one side has a Grand Victorian building, now quite run down, and on the other a plot where it looks like construction has started, but stopped a few years ago. I assume the ally must lead somewhere, so go down it. At the back of the at the end of the building plot I can see that there is another Victorian building, this one really run down and is boarded up. The path runs the length of the plot, then turns a sharp left, and is now only 2 feet wide, running between the abandoned boarded up building and a tall wooden fence. The path is strewn with beer cans and only runs for a few feet before it turns to the right, continues along to a wide road – what a strange little alleyway!

Continuing on I walk in the direction of where I think the brook that runs behind the cemetery must be, and I cross the main road and choose a street at random to walk down. Suddenly, this road opens up to a green open space, and there is a bridge crossing the stream. On the other side the path goes along the bank of the stream, and I decide to turn left, and walk along with the green and the water to one side, and more allotments to the other. On my walk the other day I went past a huge allotment site, and this one seems at least as big – it's good to see so many town folk growing their own!

After a very short time the path comes to the railway line, and crosses it – I'm kind of taken aback at the fact that there is just a gate each side that I open with signs telling me to stop, look and listen – somehow this doesn't seem right in the middle of town, more what I'd expect to see in the middle of the countryside.

The path continues along with trees to one side, and then crosses over the stream to back onto houses on my left, and a wide area with brambles growing on the right – worth remembering for the autumn when the blackberries will be ripe! I'm walking along thinking that this path must link up with the Railway cycle path somehow, but just as I'm thinking that, my path ends at an industrial site, so it obviously doesn't!

I walk for a bit on the road, and then spot another path leading back through the trees, and take that. After a while the path becomes one of the small streets with terrace houses on both sides, and crosses the railway again – this time with a crossing barrier and lights!

I turn left along another road, this one with bungalows on one side – quote pretty and open, and then I see that I'm crossing Tennyson Road and The Walks are opposite me! So it's a simple walk across them and back home.

When home I get out my Ordnance Survey map to try to see where I've been – I can re-trace my route, but I don't see the name of the stream is that I crossed, and it's not evident that there is some green open space there. I guess it's all in how you look at it – and I chose to think I went for a walk in the country!

Gaywood Walk

2010-03-23T11:38:00.002Z

I set out with no clear objective in mind, apart from wanting to walk.

After walking along South Quay, down to Tuesday Market place, around the Town Quay and past True's Yard I came out to the Loke Road junction, and remembered that there was a small waterway behind the houses, so I thought I'd go along the path beside that for a way. This waterway – about 3 feet across and 4 or 5 deep, with maybe a foot or so of flowing water - is one of the man made drainage ways that keep this part of the world from being marsh land, and I find from my map that this one is called Bawsey Drain.

I start off along the well made path here, with the backs of the houses on one side, and the backs of a commercial development on the other. This doesn't sound very promising, I know, and indeed there is evidence of some fly tipping in the stream – a supermarket trolley which is filled with water plants, a sofa with one end in the water. But even here, there are ducks swimming around, and grass growing on the banks, evidence that nature is not tamed. Every so often along the way there are foot bridges over the water, but I just carry on along the waterside, across roads, still with buildings on both sides.

Then as I cross one more road, the houses on the far side give way to allotments – and what a lot of them there are! Many with sheds and other structures. And in the distance, I hear the unmistakable sound of turkeys – evidence that it's not just veg that is being kept here. A bit further along, and there is another drainage channel running into the one I'm following. The land on the other side appears to be scrub land, with a newer building in the distance, and with the way the Drains run, it looks like it has a moat round it! The houses on my side of the river seem more spacious now too as the path takes me out of the centre and through North Lynn.

Soon I am coming towards the sports centre with the imaginative title of Lynn Sport, and an interesting area set up for competitive fishing! Here I have to cross over to the right bank of the water, and the path goes across between the playing fields, away from the stream. However, one can still walk alongside the water on the bank, and so I do this, as the Drain loops around the field. There is a screen of trees here, and the waterway is somewhat wider and deeper, and it feels almost like “real” countryside!

And then I come to an abrupt junction, where the Drain joins the Gaywood River, and I turn left along the appropriately named “Riverside”. And this is a simply wonderful little street – here on this side of the river there are a parade of small one story cottages facing the street, and then the grass bank of the river. On the other bank the houses have gardens coming down to the riverbank, and many of them are open with no fence, giving the appearance of a tiny countryside village.

But I can hear that I'm approaching a main road, and I soon emerge onto Wotton Road. Crossing over, I see that the river is boarded on both sides by private land, and though I walk a little way along to see if I can re-gain the riverbank, I eventually give this up, and retrace my steps back to the main road.

Rather than return the way I came, I decide to follow the Gaywood River, and this takes me on the other side of Lynn Sport. The houses on the other bank here have large gardens, and some have made a feature of the riverbank – one having built a deck with a seating area. Another appears to be in the process of building some sort of similar structure, and a third has a chicken coup!

After a while, the path I'm on becomes a road with houses on my side too, and then the river makes an abrupt turn to the right, and I follow it along an unmade road prettily called “Swan Lane”. This road also has small cottages along the road, and feels very rural, even though on the other bank I can see the back of the new super store which I know is on the busy Gaywood Road.

At the end of Swan Lane one of Lynn's many cycle paths cross the river, which I cross to continue following the river bank, but this is soon blocked by a fence, with what appears to be a farmers field the other side, so I go back and follow the path instead. This takes me across Gaywood Road, and then runs next to King Edward VII School, where the school-kids are out playing sports.

I'm familiar with this path – called the Railway Path – which runs next to the King's Lynn to London line, between mature trees. Then I'm across Tennyson Road and into the Walks, and nearly home. As I continue across the Walks, it occurs to me that the waterways here are probably the Gaywood river – I hadn't previously thought what this might be, but checking on the map later shows that indeed this is the case.

Overall an interesting and amusing walk – although I was always in one part of town or another, by following the waterways I saw a different, and more rural face to the area than anyone speeding past in a car will ever see.

of birds....

2010-03-16T09:48:00.001Z

I'm sitting here in my living room with a cup of flavoured coffee and watching the sun outside my window, the river flowing by, and the birds in my little walled garden. A starling was just pulling at some of the moss on the garden wall, and some Blue Tits are currently flitting in and out of the trees.

My lease doesn't let me keep pets here, so since early winter I've been encouraging birds into my garden by putting out feeders for them, and this spring I've been trying to keep a note of the species that come visit. So far this week I've identified wood-pigeon, collard dove, blackbird, starling, blue tit, great tit, coal tit and house sparrow. There were a couple of others, but they flew away before I could get my book out to identify them!

It's interesting that the seagulls that are all around diving and flying over the river don't come into the garden - I suspect that it's too small for them with it's enclosing walls. My neighbour on the other side of the courtyard has her own private garden too, but this is not enclosed by walls, and right now the gulls are flying past my window to get at the food she's just put out. She intends it for smaller birds, but the gulls don't mind!!

There is always something to look at on the river – often just the river itself as it is quite amazing how it flows in so fast! During the winter, he flocks of birds would fly back and for the to the feeding grounds out on the Wash in the mornings and evenings: now that many of the migrants have flown north for the breading season, there are less noisy flights of birds, but there still seem to be plenty of them around, and it still causes me to stop and watch as they go by.

And all this just from sitting here looking out of my window!

Sunshine on the river

2010-03-07T17:04:00.000Z

I've lived here in Lynn just over a year, and I'm still really inspired by the river and the sights here. Today I went for a walk over to East Lynn and back, a gentle walk of about a mile and a half each way. We start from the Quay side, and on this bright sunny afternoon there were quite a few people around just walking, and a couple of people sitting in their cars listening to music or reading. On one of the benches is a guy reading a book, and he is surrounded by 3 beer cans – normally we don;t see much littering around here, so I wonder if they belong to the reader?

As I walk on I notice two of the fishing boats moored at Boal Quay – these are working boats, but they look so smart and fresh that they might well be toys floating on the water. And just as I'm admiring them, I become away of the salt smell of the sea – maybe this is just fancy, but maybe not:)

I then take a short cut across the parking lot – late last year they re-covered the upper part here with new shingle, and most of it is now fully incorporated into a tight surface, but here and there, where the cars haven't been too much, it is still loose and like a beach – hard, but fun, to walk through.

And then I regain the path and follow it to the top of the dyke. The sun is shining from an achingly blue sky, and this is reflected in the river, which is a beep blue, and sparkling in the sun. The river is rarely still, and right now it's slowly flowing, with eddies and currents easily seen in the bright water. All the way along the path I'm captivated by the play of light on the water, except when a sea bird swooped into view and I stop to watch its graceful glide.

As I approach the bridge, the path takes me past some allotment land, and there are 2 bonfires there which draw my attention. The plot holders have been busy, I can see, with most of the plot looking newly dug over, and I think back for a while to another life where I had an allotment.

Soon I'm at the bridge, and I start to cross over, and the noise of traffic reminds me of how peaceful the river path had been. This route takes me past an business estate, still now on a Sunday, but I see that they are developing this, and putting a new road in, complete with new bridge over a small drainage channel. At the end of the road I turn off the path and walk along side the road for a while – I have the choice of walking on the roadway itself, or on the muddy side of the road. This is not somewhere I'd normally choose to walk, but I'm on my way to a cafe, and I stop there for a drink and to use their restrooms, before turning around and re-tracing my steps.

By the time I arrive back home I'm quite warm and very glad that I am blessed by being able to live by this exciting and ever changing river.

Snow Days

2010-01-02T15:59:00.002Z

We have had more snow in the last 14 days here in Lynn than I’ve seem in the last 14 years!!!! We don’t do well with snow here - mainly because we don’t get it much!!

I remember a few years ago when we had snow driving my car round a corner - or rather TRYING to drive my car round a corner! - and ending up sliding sideways and slamming into the curb the other side - luckily there were no other cars or people in the way!

Walking on fresh fallen snow is a joy!! But when it gets compacted or slushy it’s not at all a nice thing to do. A few years ago, when I was considerably heavier than I am now, I hated any kind of slippery surface, as I felt so unsteady on my feet. But nowadays I’m a lot more confident, and this morning when I was walking along the river bank path, I was managing to really stomp along!

As I left the house I spotted the full moon had not yet set, and as the tide was full, it made an amazing picture reflecting on the still waters, There is something about that moment when the tide is full and the river seems motionless apart for the occasional eddy - it almost seems like a pond at those times. The picture at the top of this piece is a panorama from just outside town, and by this time the tide had started to go out, but it is still quite full.

This morning was bright, and we had only a very little covering of snow, but after I got home the clouds came over, and it started to snow heavily -and has kept it up most of the afternoon. I’m still enjoying the view, only now I’m inside and warming myself by the fire.

Boxing Day On The Beach

2009-12-29T17:54:00.002Z

It was a sunny day, and I went out for a drive to Burnham, where there is a restaurant I thought Id go to for lunch. Although it had been snowing for much to the last week, the roads were wet but fine, and the sun shining on the snowy fields made the countryside very scenic. Even so, some of the side roads seemed to be still covered with ice, so I was thinking I’d stay to the main roads where I could.

After a while I arrived at the place I was heading for, but it was shut! Yes, I could have phoned them first, but it was a last minute decision. Since I was here, I turned around and went back, and turned into Beach Road to get to the beach. This road was slushy, and there were a number of cars coming away, so I waited for them to come along before I went down the road. When I got to the parking lot, I was amazed at the number of cars there - and also by the large puddles and mud!

I looked for somewhere to park that wasn't too wet, changed into my walking shoes, and put on my hat and gloves before venturing out. I set out across the quagmire and up through the sand dunes onto the beach.

There are indeed a number of people here, but the first thing I notice is a memorial plaque to someone drowned on this beach - a solemn reminder that the sea is not to be taken lightly. The tide is quite high and I walk on fairly firm sand, collecting some shells as I go. There is a large piece of drift wood - more like a small tree - in the middle of the beach - people are using this as a photo opportunity, and it does look strange, rising up out of the sand like a swimmer out of the water. Ahead I see what I take to be a kite being flown - as I get closer I see that it is a form of kite, but it’s being used by someone who is standing on a kind of skate board, and is sand-surfing!

I walk around an inlet and then up over the sand dunes into a sandy area with tough long grass - I think that this must be a blissful area in the summer, and even now in mid winter is exudes a feeling of calm serenity. It also shields me form the wind, and as I mount the sand dune to go back onto the beach I’m hit again by the cold blast.

Coming down to the beach again, one of the many dogs that are here on the beach bounds up towards me - I go to greet him, but he veers off at the last moment - just as well because I then see that he is soaking wet from the sea! I re-trace my steps and then go past the path I came in on and further down the beach. Just to one side I see a couple of buckets left there - has someone been building sandcastles? And why did they leave their tools here?

By now the sun is starting to sink below the dunes, making for a dramatic skyline, and it is noticeable that more birds are flying over the beach coming in from their feeding grounds to roust for the night. Before it gets too dark, I turn and go back to the path leading to the parking lot. But as I climb the dunes for the last time and look over towards the setting sun, I see an enormous flock of birds away in the distance. I stop to watch as they swoop across the sky to their rousting grounds, a fitting end to a wild walk on the beach.

The perfect rainbow

2009-11-30T16:01:00.004Z

This morning I had an errand to run about a mile and a half away, so I decided to walk there and back - it was cloudy, yes, and the forecast was for rain, but I needed the exercise and it’s mostly a fun walk.

I headed out onto the Quay and along towards the fishing boats, and was hit by the cold North wind - just as well I had my thick coat on! There were a few spots of rain in the wind, and I did briefly think of turning back, but it was nothing too bad - nothing like the conditions the fishermen would see out in the North Sea today.

I cut through the gravel car park and then through the back streets that form the quickest walking route to South Gates. This is not the “historic” part of Lyn, but still old - mostly Victorian/Edwardian I’d guess, but lots of different styles of housing, even a few newer developments squeezed into the spaces between the older houses. There is a fascinating juxtaposition here; All Saints church - a classic 14th century building reaching up to the heavens - is almost totally enclosed by a late 20th century utilitarian housing development - a real contract of architectural styles.

Walking on through this area I get to the South Gates and past that I attempt to cross the road - not an easy thing in the morning “rush” hour, when the traffic going in to town just wants to keep on crawling in, and not leaving any space for a pedestrian to cross. But eventually I do get over the other side safely, and start along the long straight Hardwick Road. This starts off with some Victorian villa - each one named and still having the air of middle class respectability about them. At the end of these is the Cemetery running away to either side, and then the road becomes a bridge over the railway. This higher vantage point - which is unusual around Lynn - gives a view of the large stores here, one of which is my destination this morning. The clouds are scudding past as I cut across Tesco’s parking lot to the one I’m going to, and for a few moments I'm out of the weather.

Coming out of the shop I’m suddenly hit full in the face with a really cold north wind, as it starts to rain in earnest and soon my glasses are totally covered with water. But, just as I get across the parking lot and emerge onto the road again it stops raining - there is a bus stop here and I could wait - but I’d decided on a walk, and it might, in any case, take as long to get a bus from here.

I retrace my route, and as I come within sight of the South Gates, I’m suddenly aware of a thick, dark grey cloud ahead of me - should I have waited for the bus after all? Just then, however, I see a rainbow - a perfect arch from left to right across the sky, deeply colored at the ends and lighter overhead. I stop for a moment to just admire the beauty of it - yes, it means rain, but the rain is worth it for this spectacle.

I negotiate the crossings again with a smile on my face, and even as the rain starts to really fall, I’m at least content that I saw some of the wonders of nature, even when I wasn't looking for them.

Reiki day

2009-11-23T09:25:00.002Z

I’m willing to try most things (but that’s another story) and when a friend offered to do a Reiki with me I accepted.

Now I’d heard the term Reiki, and I knew it was some sort of Alternative Therapy, but that was the extent of my knowledge, so I quickly went on to the interweb to see what I’d just agreed to. This is not, as I’d assumed, some form of ancient art, but was actually “invented” in the early 1900’s (different sources say different years, but all agree the general time frame). It is either a way of channelling life energy to promote healing, or a method of stress reduction and relaxation, depending on who you read. In any case, it’s been practised for a while now, is not a religion, and what harm could it do?

So Saturday morning I set out and get the bus to Wisbech and was met by my friend and her dog, and we went round to her flat. She is a level one practitioner of Reiki and has her certificate on the wall to prove it! We first have a cup of coffee (de-caf) and a chat and then we are ready to start. I lie down and close my eyes and she puts on some soothing oriental music and washes her hands with some sort of aromatic oils before we start.

I have tried meditation many times before, and often it is hard to keep focus on something other than my racing thoughts. As I lie there and she places her hands on my head I concentrate on my breathing, the sounds, and the sensation. After a while she moves her hands to the sides of my head, and this is comforting in a strange way. Then she moves to my neck area, and here I suddenly find I have a feeling of panic - it is not a specific fear OF anything - I don’t think she is going to strangle me or anything - but I have to really concentrate on my breathing before it subsides. For the rest of the session I am relaxed and calm - there is one awkward moment where her CD sticks, but apart from that it is a half hour of serenity.

I have meditated before - and know I would benefit from doing it more and more often. This felt like a really calming meditation, and there were only a few times when my mind wondered. During the session a picture came into my mind of a face hovering over me. Only the bottom half of the face was in focus, just the mouth and chin, and this apparition was somehow comforting and - well I’ve used the word a lot but it’s the right one - calming. And I also felt the warm light that is there in my higher powered moments showing me that all is well.

So, I have no idea about any healing issues, but it was certainly a wonderful experience and I’d be pleased to be my friend’s practice subject again. And in my web searching I came across this passage, which I really like and will end this short piece with:

Just for today:
Do not be angry
Do not worry
Be grateful
Work with integrity
Be kind to others and to yourself.

We haz wind

2009-11-18T11:40:00.001Z

It seems to be always windy here on the river. Today the wind is from the south, and I could tell that before I got up, just from the different noises the cottage makes.

A south wind hits the side of my place, and the big sash window that looks over the communal garden rattles - it was that noise that I heard in the night that told me the direction of the wind. The bathroom too is noisy with the wind blowing down the vent for the extractor fan. Up here on the top floor the kitchen window also faces out over the communal garden, and whilst it was not rattling, you could really hear the wind outside.

Up here in the main room I am just watching the trees being blown around - you can even see the grass on the lawn blowing in the wind!! Most of the trees I can see are evergreens, but there is one deciduous tree there barely hanging on to its yellowing leaves. And the birds are having fun trying for all they are worth into the wind, and not getting anywhere! But at least it’s sunny at the moment, even though the forecast says there is a 50% chance of rain.

Today is the first of my 2 night shift this week, so I need a nap this afternoon before that - I’m NOT going to try to do much between the night shifts as I did last week, when I got just SO exhausted!

The thing with the suit

2009-11-17T16:43:00.005Z

Way back in a different lifetime - before I started sitting on the Dock of King’s Lynn - I used to work in an office, and the dress code was that men wore suit, shirt and tie.

When I first started work, I had just the one suit, and I had to wear this every day, but I always tried, even then, to have a different shirt and tie. Eventually, I got to putting on a different suit each day. Some people who do that have 5 suits, so the same ones turned up on the same day each week. Learning from this, I had 7 - this meant that I didn’t always wear a particular suit on a particular day. And I had a range of smart shirts and ties to go with them.

Now, for most of this time I was overweight - and I really didn’t like how I looked in a suit jacket - it looked to me more like a corset than anything!!!! I wore a suit every business day for most of my working life, and never, NEVER really felt good in them. Eventually my place of work moved to “smart casual” so the suits were relegated to the back of the wardrobe, only to be got out on high days and holidays.

And then all that life stuff happened, and here I was moving to Lynn with just what I choose to carry - and suits did not make that list! As anyone who sees me around town knows, I live nowadays mainly in jeans and tee-shirts. I do have a couple of smart pairs of trousers, a couple nice shirts, and a light jacket that I wear when these are appropriate, and, of course, my uniform for work - but a suit? Just not my style!

But then last week, I was going to a memorial service, and nothing I had seemed appropriate. CERTAINLY not jeans, and although the smart trousers would pass inspection, my jacket was way too informal for me to feel comfortable in. So I went looking for a dark jacket to go along with the trousers, but I saw this suit in one shop - and thought I’d try it on.

It was a revelation - I looked in the mirror, and there was this smart man-about-town looking back at me. It didn’t look like I had a corset on, even when I sat down with the jacket done up! I brought it, and also got myself a white shirt and a couple of ties. When I dressed for the service I actually felt good about how I looked - and as someone who rarely feels good about how they look, that was amazing:)

Now, I’m not about to start appearing at the Wenns in my suit and asking for a dry martini - I’m still a jeans and tees sort of person at heart - but somehow, I’ve grown into someone who looks and feels good in smart clothes too - isn’t life strange!

Welney

2009-10-13T10:56:00.006+01:00

Where I live there are a lot of birds flying along the river, but I’m not at all knowledgeable about what is what - I’m not in any sense an avid bird-watcher. But I do have a good pair of binoculars, a camera, and most of all an interest in wild life, and so I took the opportunity this weekend to rent a car and head out to Welney Wetland Centre, to see what I could see.

Welney is something like 25 miles from me, and I set my SatNav to go the shortest route - this is always interesting as it takes me along all the tiny country roads. I was amused right away as it took me along the route I sometimes cycle out to Wiggenhall St Germans, but I was soon driving way past where I normally stop, and into deeper countryside. Out here there are a lot of roadways called “Droves” - normally long and straight roads next to a ditch, and often about the same width as my car! But it’s a fun route to drive, and you really see the countryside from here - and now I’m deep in the Fens the countryside is mostly reclaimed marshland - so the term “flat” really doesn’t adequately describe it!

Soon I’m driving along Ten Mile Bank (that is what the road is called!!) and see the Wetland Centre building in the distance - this is an interesting looking wooded building, but as I park and get out of the car I’m most struck by the sound of the birds - a real cacophony of different calls and a joy to hear:)

I guess my first question about the wetland centre was why was it here - what is special about this place? Well, as I’ve said before this area was all marshland before it was drained for agriculture, but even so, the area would be still subject to flooding from the river, so some areas were set up to allow for the flood water to go safely - these were called the Ouse Washes, contained by high banks on each side. Over time they became the habitat for a number of bird species, and in particular a home for migrating birds.

The Visitor centre is on one side of the road, and I climb up to the top level, to find a pleasant gift shop and restaurant, and I fortify myself with a cup of coffee before moving on. Then up some more stairs to a walkway that takes me over the road and onto the top to the bank. I do see that this whole thing is disabled accessible - there are lifts and the walkways are well made and level. Walking over the bridge I’m again impresses with the noise of the birds - what I know realise are Whooper Swans. I walk into the main observatory, and this is not like any “hide” I’ve been in before - it is warm and has large glass windows overlooking the main lagoon - and what a site!! I counted over a hundred swans before I gave up counting - and as I watched there were new arrivals flying in - really amazing to see them swoop down, feet first and smoothly sail into the water. The Whooper swans spend the summer in Iceland where they produce their offspring, and then they migrate down to the “warmer” climes of the UK for winter - Welney is one of the main centres in this part of the world for the swans to over winter.

These were not the only birds there by any means, but their size and noise made them the most noticeable as they squabbled and fed. Further away from us were an even larger number of lapwings, and when they took off it was truly amazing how they filled the sky, before wheeling round and landing again. There were also Brent Geese on one of the dry areas, and they would occasionally make themselves heard over the swans.

I stayed in this main observatory for some time with my binoculars, but then decided to take a walk along to the other hides that I’d seen on the map. I set off first to the south, towards the reed beds, intending to see if the “summer walk” was open - unfortunately it was not, so I’ll have to come back to go on that track. As I was walking along, the strap on my binocular case broke - they are very old binoculars, and the strap had just worn out over time, so I had to carry them for the rest of the day rather that having them wound my neck.

Turning around, I walked back past the observatory, and on along the track to the Lyle hide. This was a much quieter area - one solitary swan in the distance, but mostly plover and lapwings, with some more Brent Geese. As I watched there was another bird hovering - by looking at the books I believe it was a marsh harrier - some sort of bird of prey certainly from the way it was flying. There were also many types of duck here - too many types for my limited knowledge to identify.

It was know getting on for 1 o’clock, so I headed back to the visitor centre for lunch - I had one of their specials of the day - vegetable soup - and more coffee. It was not a particularly cold day - in fact I’d gotten quite hot when walking in the sun - but the soup somehow seemed the right thing for this outdoorsy sort of a day.

After lunch I set off to the north end of the walk to the Friends Hide. There are a lot of colourful dragonfly darting around, and as a few butterfly as well - this is a warm and secluded place for them to thrive! As I arrived, someone was coming out of the hide, and I had it to myself for a long time - I sat there and just watched the birds come and go for a while, and actually found myself drifting off in a kind of sleep, when I heard the door behind me and more watchers arrived.

I had read that they have swan feeding starting in October, so I went back to the main observatory to see if they had started yet. All this time I’d been aware that there seemed to be more people walking the paths than I’d seen earlier, and when I got into the observatory it was a lot more crowded than before - a lot of people with a lot of expensive looking photographic equipment. I found out that the swan feeding starts at the end of October, but I stayed watching some more anyway. And I saw what seemed to me an amazing thing, a couple of the swans were standing on one leg - and very un-elegant they looked too!!

In the end I decided it was time to leave, and I reluctantly crossed back over the bridge back to the visitor centre, and back to my car.

Welney is a really nice place and one I intend to return to again.

A bad taste

2009-10-08T16:03:00.003+01:00

As regular readers will know, I live by myself. Now, whilst I do have friends that I socialise with, sometimes I just want to go out to a restaurant by myself. And mostly, that hasn’t been a problem.

Until Tuesday.

On Tuesday evening I decided that what I’d like to eat was Chinese food, and sure, I could cook it myself, or I could get a take out - but really, it’d be nice to eat in a restaurant - not just for the food, but also for the general experience of being out and about and being social. Along Railway Road here in Lynn there is a Chinese Buffet restaurant, and I thought that would be idea - I could get what I needed from the buffet, and not have the things that don’t agree with me - it’d be fun:)

So I turned up at the restaurant just after 7pm I guess - I looked through the window as I arrived and saw that they had one group of people in a table by the window, but it looked like the rest of the place was empty - not surprising at this time of day I expect.

I walked in the door and waited, and soon a waitress come up to me and said “can I help you?” - so I asked for a table for one. She then walked me around the place, past a number of empty tables, and then told me that, as I was eating alone, she needed me to pay for my meal and a drink before they would serve me. I actually think I stood stock still with my mouth open for a few moments. Then I asked why, to be told it was “company policy”.

Well frankly, that policy sucks. I have no idea why I, as a single diner, should be singled out for this discriminatory action. Do they think I’m going to be disruptive? Frankly, one person dining alone is LESS likely to be disruption than a group of people. Do they think I’d run off without paying? That must be a danger with any table, why pick on me for this particular treatment?

Or is it just that they actually just don’t want my custom? Is it that they don’t want people eating by themselves in their restaurant? Of course, they are perfectly entitled to put any rules they like about who they will and will not serve. And if that was their intention, then they succeeded in not getting my custom that day - or any day between now and when hell freezes over.

I went home and cooked for myself, but it will take a while for that bad experience to leave me.

What’s in a name?

2009-10-05T17:26:00.003+01:00

A while ago I was taken to task for referring to the place I live in now as “a cottage”. Well, you know, I can’t think of a better description - it’s not a flat/apartment as it’s a self contained dwelling with its own front door to the world, rather than being part of a block of similar dwellings - It could be called a house, I guess, but that - to me - implies something bigger than a 2 up, 2 down building.

And then that started me thinking about this whole thing around what we call the places we live in, which is additionally complicated by the fact that the Americans among us use different terms than the British (so what’s new there!!!)

The first place I rented after leaving my parents house was the top rooms of a house; we had a kitchen, bedroom and sitting room/living room/lounge (now don’t get me started on the differences there!!!!), and the owners lived in the bottom half of the building. We had one front door and one address between the two dwellings, and we shared a bathroom. I called it a “flat”, and I’m fairly comfortable with that description, except that it implies to me that we have private facilities - maybe “rooms” would have been a better description.

The next place I lived in (and the first place I owned) was a maisonette. Now, I’m not even sure we use that term anymore, but at the time it meant a dwelling that was self contained and had its own entrance to the world - it was this latter point that differentiated a maisonette from a flat: flats had some sort of communal area where you entered from the street, and then their own front door to the accommodation. At the time it made a difference - a maisonette was worth more than a flat!

Then I moved to a house - a “semi-detached” house, which means that there were two dwellings connected together - I had 3 outside walls and one party wall. The hierarchy of price is detached most expensive, semi-detached and then terraced least expensive. In terraced homes, all the houses are joined together - you just have two outside walls. But it doesn’t tell you anything about size or number of rooms or - well - much else really! A house can be 2 or more stories high - with or without cellar, but if it’s only one story, then it’s a bungalow. Bungalows can be detached, semi-detached or terraced - at least in principle I guess they can - I’ve never seen terraced bungalows, but I would assume they exist. And then there are Town Houses - these are terraced houses on 3 floors, often with a garage as part of the ground floor of the building.

So what is a cottage? Interesting question - I think the only way to distinguish it from a house is that it’s a smaller place, and the term has connotations of rural cosiness. So this is a cottage :)

So much for the UK - but when I turn to the US I get even more confused. The term “flat” that we use would appear to be translated to “apartment” AND “condo”. It took me a while to get this distinction in my head because when I talk of a flat, I’m talking about a physical type of dwelling, so a flat can be rented or owned. And so I assumed that this was the case in the US and looked for the difference between the building types. And so, when I saw two identical buildings, one of apartments and the other condos I was REALLY confused! But eventually I got it - there is no physical difference, but an apartment is rented, but f it’s owned, it’s called a condo!

Nor is that all! At least in the part of the US where I found this out, a bungalow is normally 2 stories, with the 2nd story being in the loft - if I had to call this anything in the UK, I’d guess I’d call it a chalet style house. I kind of think that “duplex” is what I refer to as a semi-detached - except that in New York they have duplex apartments and so, like the distinction between apartment and condo, I may well be getting confused.

Again!

Places

2009-09-30T16:21:00.004+01:00

I’ve been to Norwich a few times and done some sight-seeing, but today I was going to meet up with someone who has lived there for a few years, so this time I might see other things that are not so obvious. I started out mid morning to catch the bus, the X1 that runs across country from Peterborough to Lowestoft - my part of that route takes just under 2 hours. It’s an interesting trip in its own right, going across the open Norfolk farmland and into the tree lined villages and busy towns.

After about 45 minutes of the trip, I begin to wish I’d used the bathroom before I left, and by the time we arrived I could only manage a quick greeting to my friend before I had to rush into the rest room. (Some may think that Too Much Information, but I like to be real in my reporting!)

Once those immediate needs were met, I went out to meet my friend again, and then we set off to visit The Forum - this is a very new building and is on the site of the burnt down old library and it’s kinda reminds me of the shape of a Roman amphitheatre - a very round building with the entire from wall being of glass. It has the library and a restaurant in it, as well as the studios of one of the local TV stations. Leaving this ultra modern building we see the 15th century St Peter Mancroft church - a very striking contrast in architectural styles!

My friend tells me I need to see this shop she has discovered - it’s in a building that was once a skating rink. We walk past the fire station, and into turn into the area in front of the building - and the entrance is guarded by two Chinese stone lions. Walking into the store I am amazed - is this a shop or a museum? The walls are covered with oriental art and intricately carved wooded panels and fine statues - oh, and yes, some goods for sale too!! We spend some time admiring the fine historic items, all the time trying to look like we might want to buy something!!

Leaving there we went down through the market - and Norwich market must be one of the nicest I’ve ever been in - unlike most markets I know of, the “stalls” are not temporary structures that are moved at night, but fixed wooden huts, brightly coloured and bustling with people. I stop to look at The Cheese Shop before we walk on through the Victorian Arcade and then climb up past the castle and then down again and now we are out of the city centre itself, the place is roomier with lots more trees everywhere - the architecture is not as inspiring, more modern and utilitarian than old and interesting, but the general space and greenness makes it pleasant enough.

We head down towards the river and here we fins a gem of a building - called Dragon Hall it’s a medieval trading hall dating back to the 1400’s and restored wonderfully - not modernised, but still accessible. The main thing we go to see is the first floor Great Hall with an amazing crown post roof, and a carved dragon which, I guess, gives the building its name. Around the hall a lot of the buildings are derelict, and my friend tells me that you used not to be able to see the hall very well, as it was next to an old run down warehouse, but that is now demolished. And signs of regeneration abound in the area, the most striking being the new bright white foot bridge over the river here. Walking over this gives us a good view of the hall behind us, and in front there are new shops, restaurants and apartments - this riverfront are looks to be really booming! We head out to see the Norwich City football ground and then follow the river back to the riverside development, and stop lunch in an Italian restaurant.

This chain restaurant is very quite at this lunchtime - the places in the City itself will be bustling at this time of day, but out here the real busy times are evenings and weekends. Following lunch we stroll along the river some more up towards the Cathedral.

Norwich Cathedral is splendid in its Norman architecture, but both of us have been here before, so for today we just walk around the cloisters and discuss the air of silence that prevails in these places, even when there are many hundreds of people coming and going. My friend tells me that even the children attending the Cathedral school seem exceptionally well behaved! We spend a few minutes in the nave, then set out through the front entrance - where I notice for the first time that the archway of the cathedral gate frames a building that appears to be leaning over! Getting closer I see that this is true - this one building is at an angle to the others in the row of shops across the street.

We walk across the road and up over another of the hills that Norwich is built on, and through some quaint cobbled streets. And it is not just the road that is charming, all along the shops are small antique shops and similar nice places to browse.

By this time it is getting late, and we head back to the Bus Station, but stopping once more to have a coffee before heading our separate ways. By the time I get to the bus stop, there are a lot of people queuing for the X1 back towards Lynn, with more people arriving after I join the queue. In fact, I get a seat, but there are standing passengers by the time we leave the stand.

It’s only after sitting for a while that I realise how much I’ve walked today. And although we’ve only scraped the surface of the city, I feel glad to have seen some of the places that not everyone will have seen on a day trip to Norwich, as well as some of the more well known areas.

Palms and Kestrals

2009-09-28T16:50:00.002+01:00

Whilst I was away on vacation, Autumn seems to have arrived here in West Norfolk.

Yesterday morning I came up to my living room here and was entranced by the early day-break scene - the sun was just rising behind me, and lighting up the roofs on my side of the bank. But out on the river, a morning mist was rising over the water - just swirling lightly as the breeze caught it almost like a reflection of the water as it slowly moved out to sea. The season of mists has indeed arrived.

Today has been a joyously autumnal day, and this afternoon I took a bike ride downstream for a couple of miles - I actually chose a bad time to be going out, as the local junior schools were just turning out, and the pathways were full of mum and prams and small people! But I was soon out on the top of the dyke, and was away from people for a while. I notice that the sunken ship is still there - the buoys around it now have a feeling of permanence.

Under the main road, and I come to the new - huge - paper mill that is nearing completion - the company operating it is called “Palm Paper” and as I ride past I’m amused to see that part of the landscaping they are doing is to plant palm trees!!! There is a lot of ground here, and hopefully the planting they are doing will alleviate the bright blue of the building itself - well, I live in hope! As I ride on top of the dyke, I see that on my left - between the raised path and the fence around the building - they have put down a layer of earth over the existing grass - this is flattened off and I’m not sure if they are going to plant this as well or..... well, I can’t see why they have done this at all!

I ride about 2.5 miles down to where the cycle path joins a country road, and decide to turn around here and turn back; sometimes I take the road home, but today it just feels right to keep to the off road paths. On my way back, I spot what I’m sure is a Kestrel hovering against the wind and watching for pray. As I get closer I’m sure it is a Kestrel, but each time I stop to take a picture it’s swooped away somewhere else. I stop a number of times to watch this bird of prey hover and swoop, and then it flies away from the river, over the path I’m on and up, up until it’s above the towering Palm Paper building. And then it lands on a small ledge way up at the top of the building - and I realise that this is not a just paper mill, to the kestrel it is a cliff face where he can perch and watch for pray!

I ride home smiling, that once again nature is turning what we humans do to its own advantage - how cool is that:)

Temporally challenged

2009-09-26T17:09:00.002+01:00

This is the thing - I don’t know what time it is. OK we all say that from time to time - or at least I do - and when I’ve said it in the past I’m thinking is it 11 o’clock, or 11.45? What I mean right now is, my body does not understand if it’s day, night, evening, morning or next Wednesday afternoon. So this is just because of 2 days of nights (you see - even my language has gone to pot!!) and I’m sure I’ll adjust - at least I sure HOPE I’ll adjust.

I got one of those e-mails in the post today - you know the sort - an inspirational live-one-day-at-a-time sort of thing, all about how each day we wake to a present of the present (I’m making it sound glib - it was good and thanks to the person who sent it). But my reaction was - I don’t know when my day starts. To the general population, it’s early in the morning, when they wake up - but early morning is when I get in from work and go to sleep!

Thursday evening I went into work at 9pm, finishing Friday at 7am and I came home and went to bed, and woke around 1pm, and got up then - was that the start of Friday? Then I pottered around the cottage for a bit, went over to Wisbech in the early evening (and, incidentally, kept falling asleep on the bus!). I got home and dozed in a chair for a bit, watched some internet TV, and then went to bed again at 3am, and woke today (Saturday) at midday. So as far as I’m concerned Thursday, Friday and Saturday all sort of merged together into a continuum of waking and sleeping, with no clear definition of “THIS is where the day starts.

And meals are another thing - during the Thursday night-shift, I had a meal at midnight (not sure if to count that as Thursday’s last meal, or Friday’s first meal), then an apple and a yoghurt at 3am. I ate again Friday around 3pm, and then after I got back home at 10pm. Today, after I got up at midday I was hungry and had a meal that might be lunch, or breakfast, or something else. All this is messing with my head!!!

And now, I don’t have another shift until next Friday starting at 9pm - it is great to think of 7 days off - but do I try to get back to “normal”, or stay with this “odd” sleep and food pattern? As I said when I was on vacation, maybe the best thing is to tune my body-clock to the Mid West time zone, which would mean I’d start work at 3pm:)

As I say it’s early days yet - maybe I’ll get used to it. Or maybe I won’t. Either way, the solution will become clear, somehow:)

What time zone am I in?

2009-09-25T16:40:00.001+01:00

It’s been odd these last few days, with getting back from the USA and my new night shift job all mucking around with my perception of time of day. Here are some thoughts and impressions so far:

1) Going to work at 9pm just feels wrong - last night I was standing outside the store waiting for the door to be opened, being told by this slightly inebriated person that the shop was closed - repeatedly being told that - like I really didn’t understand the concept of “closed”.

2) Walking home at 7am is really cool - there are all these shops getting ready to open, people arriving at offices, and I’m going home to bed!

3) “Meal times” are extremely arbitrary. We get a break at midnight, and another at 3am. I knew I’d need one of my 3 meals during that time, so the first day I packed a salad to have at the midnight break, and found myself really hungry again at 3 - they do have vending machines in the store’s canteen, but they were almost empty of anything other than rattlely bag goods and sweets- which is something that went into the comments book!! The second day I took a fruit and yoghurt to have on the second break, and that seemed to work OK.

4) Sleep is a beautiful thing:) I’m grateful I live alone right now, so sleeping from 7am to midday, and then again from 3 to 5 is not a problem to anyone else

5) I’m really catching up on listening to podcasts!! Well, l’ve listened to about 18 hours of arts reviews, science programs, discussions and stuff like that - maybe I could learn a new language or something useful in the time I’m stacking shelves!

I’m feeling kinda disconnected from the world right now - some of that is because I’m awake when others are asleep and asleep when others are up, but more than that physical thing - I’m spending a lot of work time alone in my head. But these are early days - and my next shift is not till next Friday, so I get to have a lot of play-time till I need to wear socks again.

Back on the dock

2009-09-23T19:19:00.004+01:00

Well, I arrived back in my cottage by the river yesterday afternoon - and my luggage turned up today as well:) I've been away about 3 weeks, during which time dusk has come forward a lot - it now gets to be sun-set around 7pm - the picture here is from my window just now.

The vacation was great, thanks for asking:) I had an exciting busy time in Missouri, and a restful and quiet time in Texas; now I'm back in Norfolk and tonight I start my night shift - hmmmmm - this will be "interesting" - just coming back here from Texas my body has no idea what time zone it's in - and this may well be a good thing for starting this now I guess - I slept good last night and then had a couple of naps during the day - we will see how I feel tomorrow!

One thing I have had to think about is - do I pack some food for my breaks? I'm working 10 hours, so I've decided that, yes, I need to do so, and so I've packed a salad, and will have coffee too during the night.

SO - wish me luck:) Maybe I'll write tomorrow - if I have the energy!!!

away from the "dock" for a while

2009-09-02T20:10:00.001+01:00

For the next 3 weeks, I'll be wasting time on sitting on other Docks:)

Time and Tide

2009-08-19T19:40:00.003+01:00

This morning started well, with a call from a friend to go and watch the ferry cross the river. Now, that might not sound promising, but let me explain.

There have been exceptional high and low tides just recently and the town ferry - a tiny little craft that carries people between east and west Lynn - carries on regardless. On the Town side, there is a jetty that goes down into the water, and at most stages of the tide, the ferry goes up to this jetty for the people to get on and off. As the water level goes down, more of the jetty is seen, until at the lowest tide - like today - you actually get to the end of the jetty, and start seeing the riverbed. At times like this the ferry has to take a different approach.

First the ferry approaches the land as near as it can get, and then one of the crew jumps out of the boat into the water, and pulls it ashore. Now, since the boat is not up to the jetty, having pulled the boat as close as possible, he gets out a set of steps and puts these against the end of the boat for the passengers to use. At certain times, he also puts out duck boards for the passengers to get across the riverbed to the jetty, but he did not do that this time - maybe the sand there was dry enough.

The passengers got off and a few others got aboard for the return trip, and the crew man in the water proceeded to push the ferry back out into the stream. I have nothing but respect for this crew, out in all weathers and in all tidal conditions - the current here is so strong that just to go safely from one side to the other takes enormous skill, and yet these men make it look so simple and so routine.

Hanse Festival 2009- Sunday

2009-08-03T11:52:00.003+01:00

On my early morning bike ride, I see that the stallholders along the Quay are already up and about before 7am - it is a bright day already and the rain from last night is only evident by the occasional puddle as I cycle along. Arriving back about an hour and a half later, I’m amused to be stopped at the entrance to the Quay by an event security guy who tells me I can’t come in as this is a restricted area!! “Restricted”?? I take it he means that they have closed the road to traffic, and I so tell him I live here, and he lets me through.

In the afternoon I set out again - on foot this time - and see that a lot of the same stalls are there, with a few extra ones. Today we also have a Falconry display - very cool to see these birds of prey up close. Walking along I see that they are starting to dismantle the marquee that housed the blacksmiths - and then I see that their project for the weekend is finished and on display. They have created a piece of public art if the form of a fish drying rack, with various fish on it - this looks really interesting, and I look forward to it being put on display.

Walking further and passing the aroma from the Sausage wagon, I queue to get on board the boat that is causing all this excitement. I don’t have to wait too long, and, as the tide is low right now, I walk down to the floating dock, and get my first close up site of the Lisa von Lubeck from the water line. Walking up the gangway, I’m immediately impressed by the bright shiny wooden planks. I also see that it’s curving away from me to the bow and stern, increasing the impression of height to the two ends of the boat.

First I go into the cabin in the back, and look at the explanatory notes - all in German, so they don’t mean a lot to me. From here we can go down some steep steps into the hold of the boat. I do this and am surprised to see it’s furnished with benches and tables, and has a bar selling German beer! Climbing up from this I then go up more steps to the stern deck, with its wheel that everyone just loves to turn. Standing here looking down the river it’s hard to imagine that this is real, but this would have been how the craft of that generation navigated across the seas.

Climbing back down, I go across the deck and up to the Bow section of the boat, complete with brass bell - which people love to ring - and anchors. Standing right at the bow gives one an unusual view of the Great Ouse as it disappears into the horizon.

The mid section also houses a bar selling German beer - they obviously know how to please the people of Norfolk - and is arranged with chairs. I sit there for a while enjoying the feel of the boat and the slight swell that we have - really only apparent when I look at the quayside and see it moving up and down.

And then it’s off the boat, and I take another walk the length of the Quay - down at the Square they are dismantling the stage. I’m about to return home when I see a friend also out walking, so we walk together for a while, both saying how great it is that the Quay is being used. Most of the time I’ve lived here in Lynn, it’s just been a car park - this shows that people will come to enjoy themselves if there is something of interest for them. I hope to see more use of this area, even if it does mean my quiet corner gets busy from time to time!

I see that the boat is due to sale out on the high tide on Monday at 2pm - unfortunately I’ll be at work then, or I’d have been sure to be seeing her off and wishing her well on her voyages.

Hanse Festival 2009- Saturday

2009-08-01T21:13:00.004+01:00

As I get back home on Saturday afternoon, I see out my window that the Quay is buzzing with people, and whilst I’m getting changed and drinking coffee I hear the sound of drums from out there.

By the time I get out the drums have stopped, but there are certainly a lot of people around. I’m “amused” to see that one of the charity stalls have set up a table and chairs right outside our front gate! As I walk up the road, I see some women in bright costumes walking in the opposite direction, followed by people carrying drums - this must be the band I heard and I hope I didn’t miss the performance. I look round the stalls - more than there were on Friday, and some interesting items on sale. Right outside there is a clown and his “dancing bear” on a lead - this lead is given to one of the young watchers, and he’s asked to “look after my bear”, who promptly starts to walk off pulling the child behind! (I would point out that this was a person in a bear costume - no animals were hurt in the production of this blog.) Further along there is a Punch and Judy show just finishing the performance to cheers and applause. I turn back at the end of the quay to come back, and the Punch and Judy man is wheeling his booth along and amusing the children as he goes by pretending to charge them and generally adding to the frivolity of the event.

As I’m walking towards the Square, the performers with the drums are just starting another set - I find out that this is the King's Lynn Community Samba Band - a lively group of instrumentalists and dancers. This seems to be their last piece, as they pack up and move off after this dance, and I’m glad I got a chance to see them.

Then I go on down to the square, where they are setting the bandstand for the group playing tonight, and there are a few people just sitting around on the chairs drinking coffee and listening to the piped music. I take advantage of the market being here to get French cheese and olives - I try some “Mexican style” olives which sound different - they are indeed different and HOT!.

Later it begins to rain - a heavy consistent rain that makes the air smell sweet and fresh. I take my umbrella and walk along to the square - the flashing lights are on in the bandstand, and it looks like the band are sitting in their bus and drinking coffee from the one food stall that is still remaining open. A shame for them, but that will always be a hazard for open air events I guess.

Hanse Festival 2009- Friday

2009-08-01T17:16:00.004+01:00

By Thursday evening, the area along the Quayside which is normally full of parked cars had started to have some wooden structures put up - more like beach huts than anything else - and Friday morning as I went out to work early I saw that all along the Quay there were signs of things about to happen.

Coming home in the early afternoon I walk down to Boal Quay and see that the Lisa Von Lubeck has its sail unfurled, with an emblem of a black eagle looking majestic in the stiff breeze we have today. Coming back towards South Quay there is a long marquee with a blacksmith working on forging iron designs, and they also have a smaller area where children can beat out their own ironwork and take it home as a souvenir. This is with real hot coals and red hot metal - if it wasn't only for kids I might have a go myself!

Then along the Quay there are various stalls and amusements, and also some charity stalls. There is the expected olive, nuts and cheese stalls and fast food stands and also a fresh cake stall, which seems to be a magnet for every bee and wasp in the county - there are certainly a lot of them! Further along and into King Staithe Square and the stage is being set up for music tonight, and there are still more food stalls.

The weather recently has been changeable - but Friday evening is calm and mild - nice for walking along the Quay in a tee-shirt. It’s getting dark now, and I understand there will be fireworks at 10pm, so I set off sown the Quay about 9.30. Most of the stalls are closed, or moved, but there are still plenty of people around walking up and down. I walk down to the Square, and there is a band performing - a group of guys in dark suites and bow ties, playing a wide variety of music. The food stalls are doing a good trade, and I assume that the novelty light people are too, judging by the number of light sabres and - hmmmm - what would they be called? A kind of rope made out of lights that kids wave energetically about.

I find out that the fireworks will not be on till 10.30, so listen to the music for a while, and then move back down the quay to wait for them to start. The clouds are moving across the moon, but still it shines off the river - it is now almost fully dark, and the closed up stalls make it darker than normal on the water side. I just stand and watch the lights on the water for a while, and then there is the first bang as the fireworks start. This is an exciting display lasting for maybe 5 minutes, and then I head back to bed - unfortunately I need to be up at 5am to go to work in the morning!

Hanse Festival 2009 the “Lisa Von Lubeck” arrives

2009-07-30T15:16:00.004+01:00

I’d read in the paper that the replica of a 14th century trading ship - the Lisa Von Lubeck - was coming into the Boal Quay at around 2pm today, so was getting ready to go along and watch it. Just before 1 as I was sitting here doing e-mail, I heard a loud BOOM!!!! from outside. Whatever you may hear, this is not normal in King’s Lynn, and I look over and see that the crowds were beginning to gather along the Quay side. So I decide to finish what I’m doing and go out and see what’s up - and then I hear another loud BOOM - and there is this boat on the river just outside my door firing its cannon!!

I grab a couple of snaps and rush out my door - by the time I get outside and to the quayside it’s passed me, but I still get a pretty cool view of it sailing along. As it approaches Boal Quay it turns across the stream to reverse into its mooring spot and I get a few good shots of the boat - the thing that really stands out for me is the way the front and back - the bow and stern I suppose I should say - are high, but the mid section is very low in the water. There are three masts and on the central and forward ones are huge lookouts that really seem like something out of a pirate movie! The boat is obviously travelling under power, although I can’t hear anything of the motors, and as it comes in to dock it’s cannons BOOM once more. There are sailors dressed in red period costume on the bow but I don’t get too good a view of them.

There are crowds on this side of the river, and more on the other, and some of the children appear to be scared of the cannon, and others just want to know when they can go sail on it! I walk along to Boal Quay where it is being moored, and look back along to South Quay - I don’t recall ever seeing this many people here before! The Lisa Von Lubeck has been followed by 2 tugs, and these now speed off down stream and people start to disperse. There is an awning being put up down by the warehouse, and it looks like this is going to be some sort of kitchen by the equipment being put in.

The day has been cloudy and in the distance we can see rain falling and it looks like its moving this way, so, since I rushed out without my umbrella or a coat, I hurry back inside. Just in time as it soon starts to thunder and rain, and the wind is really strong again. It’s sobering to think that boats like that used to be arriving and departing from this Quay that I live on every day of the week and setting out for far distant lands. What is now a quiet riverside backwater was then the centre of trade and commerce, and King’s Lynn grew rich on that influence.

Whales, boats and cows.

2009-07-25T16:43:00.001+01:00

It’s a cloudy day, but the forecast was that there wouldn’t be rain, so I went out for a bike ride - one of my normal routes along the river bank to Saddlebow and back which is mostly on cycle paths, and only goes on a few country roads.

I cycle to Boal Quay and as I turn the corner I see a whale on the bit of green in front of me! No, it’s OK I’ve not been on the funny mushrooms - it really is a whale - well, a “model” of one about six feet long. At first I think it’s topiary, but I see that it’s actually a solid construction, with some sort of green covering over it. Then as I cycle along the road there is one on the green next to the garage, and another on the area opposite that. No signage that I could see saying *why* these had suddenly appeared - maybe it’s to do with the Hanse Festival next week? Well, more may (or may not) be revealed.

Soon I’m onto the riverside path, and going towards something I’ve seen in the distance from the quay - I took it that it was some sort of structure, although it did look a bit like the mast of a boat. It is fairly low tide now, and I can see what it is - it IS the mast of a boat, and I can see a part of the roof of the wheel house too. One more unexplained sighting, but at least I understand what I was seeing from the distance now.

The cycle path goes along on top of the dyke built to contain the river, and the part right outside the town is a sloping grass bank into the water. As one goes further out of town, and under the road bridge, the path is still up high, but there is a slope down to a flat grass area, before going down further to the mud banks and the water. As it happens, last night around the time of the high tide I came over that road bridge, and it looked to me like the water was higher than normal, and that it had come onto the grassed area. As I peddle along this part of the river, I see that my thoughts were right - there are still pools of water down there in places, and out by the paper mill - where the grass has been cleared - you can see the “high water” mark. I’ve only lived by the river for 6 months, but this is the highest I’ve seen the water rise, and shows that the defences are doing just what they were intended to do!

Along on the other bank, there are cattle grazing, and as I watch, one of them starts to walk off the grassed area, down the mud bank, and proceeds to drink from the river. Soon there are 5 or 6 cattle all drinking there, and I wonder if this is normal behaviour for cattle - and if there is a danger that they won’t be able to get back up the mud bank.

I carry on past the power station and out onto the country road to the village of Saddlebow. I don’t have any particular reason for stopping there, but it’s about a 30 minute ride, so it’s just a nice round trip. I stop the other side of the village, look up at the sky, and decide that the dark cloud up there may bring rain, so I turn around to go back home. First though, I clean my glasses and wipe my face - cycling through this area I always get hit by small flying insects: luckily, I learned early on NOT to have my mouth open as I cycle!!

Going back over the Ouse relief channel, I hear the noise of a motorboat - and see that there is a water skier out there - I guess this is a nice piece of still water to practice on. On my ride back I’m relieved to see the cows have safely made it back up to the grass land. Suddenly ahead I see the outline of a bird that is not one of the seagulls or doves I see all the time. I stop to watch, and am fairly sure it’s a Kestral as it hovers and swoops in the wind!

And so home - not an eventful ride, but an interesting one:)

An anniversary of sorts

2009-07-09T15:32:00.003+01:00

A year ago I arrived in King’s Lynn. It was the first time I’d ever been here.

Arriving by train you come along mile after mile of farmland - I remember thinking it was really flat around here, but that was what I was expecting to see. Having been out in the Fens now, I know that this area is not anywhere near as flat as that, but that was my impression from the train. All the way along on the journey I was sitting and watching the automated announcement tick off the stations till I arrived - the long fast stretch to Cambridge, then Waterbeach, Ely, Littleport. Downham Market, Wattlington, and then “King’s Lynn where this service will terminate”.

I strapped on my back pack, and started pulling my suitcase. This morning I walked back to the station and re-traced my steps - across the road and to Paradise Parade - what a nice name I thought when I saw it on the map. In fact it’s a service road for the backs of the shops, but it was the route I’d worked out. I remember walking into new Conduit Street, not knowing what to expect really, and finding it was pedestrians only, and quite busy - oh yea - and the brick paving made an interesting tempo as I pulled my suitcase along. I do remember seeing the sign for Tuesday Market place and turning into High Street, but today when I went that way it was obstructed by the tree there - guess that must have grown more in the last year!

Along High Street into Tuesday Market Place, and the hotel I’d booked into is on my right - the stage was set up for Festival Too, just as it is today - but I remember more flowers than I see now - is my memory tricking me? Or maybe those were unusual, or at least not repeated this year. I didn’t go into the Hotel today, but I remember my room - 1st floor, view of the side street. And I’m sure that after I dropped my bags I went down to look at the river - the Great Ouse that I’ve got to know so well this last year.

I spent the next week or so looking for somewhere to rent - moved to the hotel across Tuesday Market Place to cut down on the costs, and had moved into my first tiny flat before the end of the month.

A year - wow - in a way it seems like the blink of an eye - in a way this is somewhere so familiar now, that it’s a kind of home - it’s certainly somewhere I feel comfortable in, and I’m grateful that it made me feel welcome.

As for the year ahead, who knows where that is going to lead me?

Festival Too - blast from the past

2009-07-05T17:11:00.002+01:00

All week it’s been hot and sunny, but Saturday morning I wake to pouring rain - not a promising start to a day with an outdoor concert planned! I have some chores to do around the house so quickly get those out the way, and spend some time in the garden. There is mint growing outside the back gate, and each time I take my bike in and out the tires go through it - very fragrant, it’s true - but I think it’s time I cut this back, so I do this and trim a few bushes too while I’m at it.

It’s mid afternoon by the time I leave the cottage and head into town for some shopping, and by this time it’s dry and warm, although not the “heat wave” temperatures we had last week. My little place by the river is quiet, but as soon as I hit town I see that it’s really busy here today. As I walk through the High Street I hear fairground organ music, and then there on the corner is the organ itself. Next to it is a booth set up for a puppet show, although there is not a performance going on as I pass. Then there is sign that this vendor is selling rats - I’m relieved to see these are the joke plastic kind on a lead.

Round the corner towards the store I’m going to, and there is another puppet booth set up, this one in mid show and a group of youngsters watching the story of the three little pigs. Do modern children - with their diet of TV animation and real life drama, still get caught up in puppet shows, I wonder? Well it seems they do from the squeals and shouts from the audience.

The town is really crowded, and I start to get a bit annoyed at not being able to walk in a straight line - I guess this shows I’m getting used to living in a small town where there are not normally lots of people! I do stop and get some more local strawberries, before heading back to my own quiet area.

Later I head out again, and first I made a stop at Wenns, and a couple of drinks with my buddies there. They have a band tonight as well, who are starting to warm up as I leave to head out to Saturday Market Place. I get there just before tonight’s big act - the Bay City Rollers - are due on stage and the square is already quite full of people of all ages. Round the outside of the market place are some fast food stands, a helter-skelter, and a “ghost train” type of ride - but most eyes are on the stage as the Rollers are announced. To be fair, it is stated that it’s just one of the original group, but they will be playing the groups hits from the 70’s.

I wonder in and out the people milling in the centre of the square, and get up fairly close to the front - close enough to where the people are waving their tartan scarves in the air and dancing and singing along. There was a time when I wouldn’t have been seen dead in such a crowd, but nowadays I’m less concerned about how I look, and more about having some fun!

The crowd is good natured and very mixed in ages - some of these, like me, will remember the group from the first time around - many it seems had seen them live back in their heyday. But there are a good proportion of teens and early 20’s here too, who would not even have been born when the original Rollers were around. I stop first to the right of the stage and not too far away from the front, put down my bag and take out a cool can, and start to enjoy the experience. I notice a colleague from the store I work in and we acknowledge each other, although it’s too noisy and crowded to actually talk.

After a while I move across to the left and get somewhat closer to the stage - here the fans are even more fun - bopping and singing along to the music. As the current tune stops, one guy gives me a high five - for no apparent reason apart from shear excitement!! Two people in particular really seem to be getting into their dancing, and I become aware that a space is forming around them to give them room to jive and do their gyrations. Soon it is almost as much fun watching them as it is the stage!!

The band wind up their set, and we do the expected shouting, and they come back for one more number, a real rock and roll one that I for one really like, and then it’s all done. Turning round, it’s apparent that lots more people arrived after me as the market place is really full. However, it doesn’t take long for us to be heading our different ways, and I join the throng going towards the Quay, where a number of people are parked.

Turning into my gate, I stop for a moment to look at the nearly full moon, and listen to the silence - this is one cool place to live.

Too One - Fireworks

2009-07-04T15:25:00.005+01:00

Last Saturday was the start of Festival Too here in Lynn, with the first free concert and the opening fireworks on the riverbank.

Actually all day there had been street entertainers in Lynn itself - we have our regular, day in day out players - “Juggling Jim”, the guitar player, the flautist, plus those who come out only at weekends - the folk singer and the Mexican trio. But for Festival Too these are joined by more players, aimed more at families - well, at keeping the children entertained. I’d been working so hit the streets of The Vancouver Centre at 2pm on my way home, and there was a definite carnival atmosphere in the air - more people than normal, and I saw a clown and a real juggler, but frankly, after an eight hour shift in the store, I just wanted to get home and changed and have a rest!

But when I got home I saw that metal barriers had been put along the quay side, so after changing into something more casual, I went out to investigate. I live just inside the flood defences (actually, it’s the front garden wall of these properties!) and then there is a small one way street, parking spaces, and then a path, before you get to the water’s edge. All the way along the water’s edge is now a line of waist-high barriers - the type you see used to line the route of a parade or something like that. I follow this all along the bank to King’s Stathe Square, where the Purfleet joins the Great Ouse. Here there is a hive of activity, with awnings being out up, burger vans being set up, and all kinds of vendors getting ready to - hopefully - sell their wares to the public. This promises to be at least interesting, so I go back home to have a rest before it all starts.

So it was later that evening that I set out again, and first I visited Wenns, were I got into conversation with a couple of the regulars and the new landlord about the Festival, the Fireworks and all that. Seems that last year the fireworks were washed out by the weather, and there had been occasions when it was foggy and one could only hear, not see them. I looked at the weather - it had clouded over and there had been a few spots of rain earlier, but it looked as if it was set to be a fair evening. I mentioned seeing the barriers along the river side, and this lead to one of those exchanges that can only happen in a small town. My friend I was talking with said that maybe it was because a certain person was back in town. I was about to ask what this was about, when a voice from the other end of the bar said What? Is SHE back? Seems there was a lady who quite notorious in these parts for throwing herself into the river at every opportunity - she’d been rescued a number of times - once by the Lynn Ferry as it went back and forth - but she’d moved away and not been seen for a few years. We talked about this and other characters of Lynn life for some time, every so often coming back to the festival, and the acts that had appeared in the past.

But soon it was time to move on, and I walked out and along to the Quay, where there were many more people walking about than normal. The road had been closed off to traffic, and as I approached King’s Stathe Square I could hear the sound of the band. They were called Mister Pink - more a genre band than anything - they played rock classics, and also some of their own music. They are fun, and are a good set of performers who don’t take themselves too seriously, but do take the performance seriously - a good balancing act to do. It’s getting towards dusk as they play, and they are in an enclosed stage area with their backs to the river - so they can’t see what we the audience can - a group of 4 micro-lights come into sight following the river, and start circling and generally showing off for the crowd. This is not part of the festival - just one of those random happenings that is “normal for Norfolk”.

There are a good few people in the square, and the vendors are doing a brisk trade. Over at the wine bar that is on the Square they have a barbecue going, which is doing a brisk trade, and judging by the glasses I see around, their bar is also doing well! For myself I cheat - I walk the few minutes back to my cottage, collect a couple of cold cans from my fridge, and go back to rejoin the crowd, having also used the bathroom. This is one big difference I see about events like this in the UK and my experience of them in the US - in the States, there are inevitable a line of portable toilets (which we call port-a-loos, and in the US are called port-a-potties), but it’s rare to see them here except at the biggest events.

And so I go back to the square to enjoy the rest of the music and to watch the crowd and be part of this event. The lead singer/guitar player has a trick or two to entertain the crown - his guitar is on a roving mic, and he comes into the crowd and walks around playing to the people. And at one point, flames start coming from the end of the guitar - it’s OK this IS a trick - corny, but kinda cute. The band play their “final” number - and we applaud and shout - and they come back for their (expected) encore and it’s a generally good event.

Dusk has been coming on, and we are told that the fireworks will start soon, so we all start walking along the quay - in my case, to right outside where I live! The fireworks are set up on the opposite bank, and it’s now clear to me why the barriers are there, as people line them to watch the show. I’ve seen the multi-million dollar firework and laser show at Disney World, and certainly this is not in that league! But it is a pretty decent display, and having fireworks over water always make a great show. It’s really not possible to explain why fireworks are fun - the noise, the vibration, the lights, the smell - all these things come together to make it a spectacular occasion.

And then when it’s done, and time for people to go home, I’m just 30 seconds from my door - how spectacular is that!

Blue on Blue

2009-06-24T08:52:00.002+01:00

Each day when I climb the stairs and come and sit at my desk here, overlooking the Great Ouse, the river is different. As I look now it’s just about high tide and there is just a slight movement of the water from right to left - that is, up-stream. The visible currents and eddies that are there when the tide is rising or falling are gone, and are replaced by a gentle rippled effect of the wind. Strangely, there is one spot of white - a sea gull resting on the water and moving slowly with the tide. The rest is blue - a serene and calm blue.

Looking further I come to the other shoreline - now at high tide the mud flats are covered with water and all one can see is the top of the dyke bank, which is grass covered. The other side of the bank are trees - I know that there are houses there too, but all I can see from this vantage point are the tops of trees - one rounded oak stands in the centre of my field of vision, to its left the spiky tops of some sort of fir tree, and to its left what looks like a double crowned tree - maybe an ash? - but in reality will most likely be two trees close together.

And then the sky - the blue hazy at the horizon, but deepening as I look up - a totally blue sky this morning with not even the hint of a cloud. It looks like this will be another bright day here in Nelson’s county. There are just a few birds - mainly common and black headed gulls - swooping around and down to the water - never actually landing, just swooping.

And signs of human life are starting to appear, someone walking a dog on the opposite bank, a fishing boat going out to sea, and on this side of the bank, more cars going past, and pedestrians passing.

Even in the time I’ve taken to write this, it looks like the tide is now slowly starting to go out, although without the drifting seagull to show direction it is difficult to be sure. But one thing is for sure, I will never get bored of the changing faces of the river.

A changeable day

2009-06-16T11:16:00.003+01:00

It has been outstandingly nice weather recently - a friend here told me a while ago that when is it nice in Norfolk it is amazing, and I am coming to see what he means:) When I woke up and looked outside it looked another pretty day - some puffy white clouds around, which enhanced the blueness of the sky.

Outside my bedroom window are some wonderful red roses which have been making me smile for a few weeks, but the flowers right by my window need to be dead-headed, so I did that, watered the tomato plants and the planters. Then I came in and did some e-mails, whilst watching some fishing boats going out to sea - I’m still a city boy at heart, and it just thrills me to see this happening right outside my window!

I’m due into my part-time job at noon, so have a quick check of the weather forecast - it says for the next few hours that there is an 80% chance of thunderstorms - but right now it’s bright and sunny and heck - I can’t go out in a coat on a day like this!!! So after an early lunch, I set off to the store where I work, and get busy with my job.

During the afternoon, I happen to be going past the loading bay, which has the big doors open - and I just have to stop and stare - the rain is so hard that it is forming rivers across the parking lot, and the one poor person I see out there is absolutely drenched! Soon, three of us are standing there watching the rain, and we all say the same thing - we had seen the forecast, but ignored it, because, how often is it right!!!

During that afternoon people come in the store with their wet umbrellas for a while, but it seems to stop quite quickly, and by the time my shift is over at 5, it’s dry and bright again - but there are still dark clouds around. I stop to get just a few items of shopping, and then head out home - and as I walk the 10 minutes home, it gets darker and darker. I’m about 3 minutes from home when the first drops of rain start, and I jog the best I can with two shopping bags, and manage to make it indoors without getting too wet. And just in time, as the heavens open again - looking out from my window I can see the rain sleeting down, and hear the water hitting the conservatory, the windows, and my roof too. At the side of my cottage I look out over the roof of an adjoining property, and the water from their gutters looks like a tiny Niagara Falls. Once again the storm is severe, but short, and soon blows over.

That evening I’m due to go out to meet some folk, and I normally cycle there - but cycling in a storm is not my idea of fun - I’m just considering this when my friend phones and asks if I’d like a lift there, and I gratefully accept. My normal route there is through a wooded are, and I look down this path as we pass it - the trees are now dripping down the rain they collected, and it does not look like a pleasant place to cycle.

We don’t get any more rain that evening, and I walk home around 9. By now the ferocity of the storms has gone, and we are left with the pleasant coolness and invigorating freshness of that after the rain period. Walking along the wooded path is a wonderful lift to the spirits, and even the occasional drop of water from the leaves is reasonably pleasant. As I reach the river, and the view opens up, the sunset is really something, with streaks of cloud lit up in shades of red and orange, and the open horizon filling the heart with joy.

Into the marsh

2009-06-13T13:27:00.003+01:00

It was another bright and sunny early morning, just right for one of my bike rides. I’m not an experienced bike rider yet, and I’ve avoided riding through Tuesday Market Place for that reason, but as it’s 6am, I think that this would be a good time to try that route, and then I can head out along the path that goes down stream, and see where that goes.

Starting out I cycle along the Quay, and into King Street, and then across Tuesday Market, past the “pre-used” furniture store, and turn left by the docks. King’s Lynn still has a working dock, albeit a small one now compared to historic times, and it seems that the main product coming through is wood, with lots of stacks of different coloured planks visible over the fences. Also along here is a quay with fishing boats anchored - as it’s low tide these are currently in the mud, but I know from my part of the river that at high tide they will be riding high in the water.

Leaving the docks behind, I take the road alongside the river, which takes me past a few houses and a factory, before moving slightly inland. Here there is a hedge of trees to the river side, and then farm land stretching away to my right. As I pedal along the road becomes more rutted and uneven, and I cycle back and forth across the road looking for the smoothest line. Soon the field on my left gives way to a wooded area, and the path comes back up onto the river bank. It feels really like wild countryside out here, so I’m surprised to see a sign saying “Please drive carefully - free range animals and children ahead”, and then to come across two houses set in the among the trees!

By now the bank is noticeably high, with the river to one side, and the cultivation and wood land giving way to marsh land to the other. From up here the horizon seems to go on forever and it is difficult to judge where the water ends and the sky starts. Soon I come to a smaller path that goes down into the marsh, so I decide to take that, stopping first to read the sign. This marsh and the sandbanks that it leads to are an important area for migrating birds, and is a protected nature reserve. This piece of path takes me down to an observation deck, and even though it’s just a path, barely wide enough for my bike, I decide to ride down it, as I’ve not seen anyone else around all the time. The path gets really narrow, with shrub each side and I have to keep going as there is no room to turn around.

After a short while, the path turns right and the observation deck is there - a wooden platform just a couple of feet above the flat salt marsh leading a few yards to a couple of observation areas. It is still wet from the morning dew, or maybe from high tide water and I am a bit dubious about cycling across this, but decide to anyway. Half way along I stop to read a sign about the plant life here - it’s an area of land that is regularly covered with salt water, so the plant life has to be able to cope with that extreme environment. Then I start off for the end of the deck. At this point I discover that my initial caution may not have been misguided, as my tires slip, and I have to swerve to retain balance, only, the deck is not wide enough to swerve, and I end up falling into the marsh! I guess if one has to fall off a bike, falling into a soft salt marsh, at low tide, is one of the best places to do it, and only my pride is hurt!!

So I climb back onto the deck, pulling my bike behind me, and WALK to the end, and then walk back, till I’m on dry land again, then cycle back to the main path along the river. Up to this point the road has been potholed and rough, but at least it was a road - now the road surface ends entirely, and the path ahead is just a mud track on top of the dyke, and so really uneven. It is slow and hard going as I bounce along. I pass some sort of tower, with equipment on top - I take it this is a meteorological station of some sort, and then the path stops altogether as a smaller stream joins the main river. I get off the bike, and walk down to where the grass gives way to mudflats, down to the top of the high tide zone I guess, and here in the mud are all sorts of animal tracks - mainly the webbed feet of different birds, but also some paw prints. Once again I am shown my own ignorance of animal life, as I have little idea what all these are, but even so I am enraptured by the beauty of it all, and just stand and be for a while.

After a time I climb back up to the path, and retrace my route along out of the marsh to the farm land and then the docks, and emerge back near the centre of town. I’ve been out less than an hour, and so rather than go back home, I take the road out of town. Had it been later, I don’t think I would have followed this route, as it’s a busy road, with lots of trucks and cars leaving their fumes behind, but today it is really quiet, and fairly pleasant to cycle along. Soon I am out of King’s Lynn and into South Wotton, and I pick up a cycle path to Sandringham, which allows me to ride off of the main road.

I follow the path as it takes me across the main road, and then out to side roads as it goes to North Wotton. Here the village is starting to wake up, and I pass a number of people out walking their dogs, or strolling with children, and everyone says good morning - the real sign of a village community. The cycle path varies between village streets, paths between buildings, and then out across Ling Common. This is as far as I want to go today, so I stop for a few moments and admire the pyramid here. I also wonder why a pyramid - reading the sign I see that it was erected to celebrate the millennium, with funds raised from the village.

Then I start out back the way I came until I see a sign that takes this cycle path to Lynn, but a different way than I came. So I take this, and it is a neat path that runs through countryside to a sports centre. It then runs across a road and I’m not too sure at this point exactly where I am, until it gets to a wooded path that runs alongside the railway, and I begin to get my bearings again. Soon enough we get to a railway crossing, and there are The Walks, so I no longer need to read the signs as this is my home territory.

I’m soon cycling along the river again and then back to my cottage - a round trip of a couple of hours, and it’s still only 8 in the morning! What a great way to start the day, experiencing the wide open wild flat lands, the river, villages and even an impromptu dive into the marsh. Who could ask for more?

Sunny Hunny

2009-06-08T12:53:00.004+01:00

It is a Sunday and promises gloriously sunny weather, so I decide to head out to Hunstanton for the day.

There is a direct bus from King’s Lynn that runs once an hour, and I turn up at the bus garage 10 minutes early, and there are already a few people waiting, including a family with 3 small children, who are getting increasingly excited as we wait! The bus arrives and the excitement is too much - one of the youngsters squirms away and jumps aboard the bus in front of everyone else. The ride is mostly uneventful, but we do get into a traffic jam as we approach the town, and are delayed by about 20 minutes. As we get closer to the centre, I notice the big parking lot next to the fun fair - and remember my trip here a few weeks ago when it was cold and damp, and there were only 4 cars in the lot, and a duck and ducklings wondering around. Today I’m hoping the duck found a quieter place to be, as the lot is nearly full, and it’s only 10 o’clock!

Getting off the bus, I’m reminded that the tourist board call this Sunny Hunny - and it IS gloriously sunny, and the sky and the sea are amazingly blue. But. It is still windy! I’m just wearing shorts and a tee shirt, and feel momentarily cool - but not for long as I start to mingle with the crowds that head out for the beach.

Hunstanton used to have a pier - this went into disrepair and suffered from a fire some time ago, but where it used to be is a building with amusements and really looking like it should have a pier attached to it! Nearing this I see lots of motor bike - I mean A LOT of them - many people in biker leathers sitting in the sun and mingling with the crowd of day trippers. Walking past these I start off along the promenade - and this has a real “English seaside” feel to it - lots of stalls selling seafood, ice creams and candy floss, hot dogs and coffee, and the inevitable gift shops with cheap souvenirs and buckets and spades - and sun screen and wind breaks, both of which are selling well! On the beach, they even have an area of pony rides, something I’ve not seen for years!

Walking along I see an amphibious vehicle near the beach, and tracks in the sand looking like it comes and goes - oh wow! a “duck tour”!! Yes indeed, they use these old WW2 landing craft for tours, and there is a tour of the Wash due to start in 15 minutes, so I buy a ticket and wait. Soon I see the craft out in the water coming closer - the “Wash Monster”. It comes right up to the promenade, and the front opens down to allow passengers to just walk straight off the craft onto shore.

We soon board and are off for our tour - just a 30 minute ride - that drives for a long way, before it has to engage its propeller and become a craft. Its crew give the appearance of older generation “sea dog” types, and it’s quite odd to see one doing the “the exits are this way” hand signals which one normally see airline stewardesses doing! This trip takes us down to Old Hunstanton, and gives us a great view of the cliffs, which are pretty amazing with a white top part, and then a very clear divide line to dark reds below. We also get a view of a much newer structure - the big turbines that are the entrance to the wash, harvesting some of the wind - at last! A good use for it!

Returning back to land, I start to walk back the way I came, and along the shore line towards the cliffs. As I go I see that the tide is going out and that more and more sand is becoming visible, as well as some of the sandbanks that are a feature of this area of coast. Looking back, I see the Wash Monster has started on a new cruise, this time out to the sandbanks, where people can get out and walk in the middle of the sea!

Eventually the promenade gives way to a normal road, and then I go down onto the beach itself - and my sandals come off so I can feel the cool sand between my toes. In this part of the beach there are moss covered rocks at low tide with tiny pools between them, before you get to the sand and then - eventually - the sea. This is a great area for adventurous young children, and the air is filled with excited squeals as another 5 year old comes face to face with a live crab for the first time. They may only be tiny crabs, but they are alive and move, and I just have to smile at the excitement they cause. I walk way out to the sea, crossing areas of sand that are alternatively dry and wet - you can really see how the sandbanks develop, and how people can get cut off on the sand banks from time to time.

I climb back onto the path, dry my feet as best I can and put my sandals back on, and start looking for somewhere to have lunch. I can see a café on the cliff above me, and a path there, so I climb this, and although it looks like a nice place, and has a decent menu, I’d have to be indoors, and it’s much too nice for that, so I start down the path back to the town. There are a couple of other places that look OK, but I decide that what I really want is a picnic, so in the end I go into a supermarket and buy a ready made meal and a drink, and come back out onto the grass above the “pier”, and sit there to have my late lunch.

This is blissful - sunny, warm and relaxing, and when I finish eating I just lie there and watch the bikers, the people playing ball, and the sea gulls swoop and glide in the breeze. After a while I realise that I’m actually getting too hot, and maybe a bit sun-burned, so I spend a while looking round the souvenir shops, before heading back to the bus station to get the bus back to Lynn. It’s quite late arriving, and I’m really hot and bothered by the time it arrives, and then it is further delayed by an “incident” on the main road back home - but I sit and doze on and off and watch the countryside go past, and get home eventually.

Hunstanton is a fun place for a day out - and I’d like to go and watch the sun set into the sea one day, which is not something you can often do from an east coast resort!

NOTES OF EXPLANATION.
Hunstanton is on a piece of water called “The Wash”, which feeds into the North Sea. The Wash appears like a large indentation in the coastline of the map of eastern England, it’s formed by a large bay with three roughly straight sides meeting at right angles, each about 15 miles (25 kilometres) long. It has a long sandy beach which is very flat, so when the tide goes out it goes out a LONG way. One interesting geographical thing about Hunstanton is that, although it’s on the east coast, because of the curve of The Wash, it actually faces west! For anyone interested, here is the Wiki listing for The Wash: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wash

Morning has broken.

2009-05-15T10:03:00.003+01:00

A couple of days ago I was awake for no obvious reason around 4am, and noticed that the sky was already getting bright. By 5 it was looking so nice outside that I decided to jump out of bed, throw on some clothes, and go for a dawn bike ride.

I start out along South Quay, and the tide is low - very low and at a bend in the river the mud flats are covered with sea birds. I take the loop around Boal Quay, and then am back on the cycle path that runs along the Great Ouse. The sun is barely over the horizon and I peddle vigorously to get warm, and soon I’m out under the main road - already busy with commuter traffic - and slow down as I see a pheasant on the path ahead! I’ve never seen pheasants on this path, but I assume they are in the fields around. Soon the cycle path leaves the river and goes onto a track through farm land with hedges on both sides and I slow and stop to watch rabbits hop away, flashing their white tails at me as they do, and more pheasants in their bright feathers. Out here it is peaceful, majestic and wonderful - and I can even ignore the paper mill they are building behind me, and look out over the fields instead.

I get to the end of this lane, and the cycle route now goes out onto the country roads. Normally I’ll take this back, but I don’t want to lose the freedom that I feel right now, and having to be conscience of traffic would do that, so I just turn my bike and go back the way I came. I am new again to biking after maybe 30 years, and still a bit cautious and there are these barriers that are, I assume, meant to stop cars coming down the cycle path - they are about 6 feet tall, wide at the bottom and suddenly narrowing towards the top, they look like an inverted wine glass shape. They are about handlebar width plus 6 inches, and I've never felt confident about riding through them, so have always got off the bike, walked through, and then got back on again. Well, this morning I decide it’s time to face that fear, and so I rode through them! I have to really concentrate to get it right, but I am getting there. In all I was out for about an hour and was really warm and sweaty by the time I got back home, I laid back down but couldn't go back to sleep, which meant I was really tired when I went into work at 2pm!!

- - - - - - - - - - -

This morning I sleep later, and when I wake heard a noise that I couldn’t immediately identify, and then I realised it was rain drops on my window. I put on my robe and go out into the conservatory - this is one amazing morning!! There is no wind and the rain is just a gentle falling of water - it reminds me of a hymn we used to sing “soft, refreshing rain”. The conservatory is all glass, and the sound of the rain on the roof is just the sweetest soft sighing. My little pond and bird bath are getting a nice fresh re-fill too, without my intervention for once. I notice that I’ve left the door of my shed open a bit, so go out to shut it - my feet get wet, but the rain on my head really is soft and refreshing!

Coming back in I stand in the conservatory just “being” for a while, and think I must have got wetter than I thought, as rain drips from my hair onto my back. Then it happens again, and I realise it’s not me, it actually is dripping in here. There are just a few drops of rain coming from the central point where the sloping glass panels meet. It’s not much, and I put a couple of pails down to catch the water - it’s certainly not enough to spoil this soft and refreshing morning.

As I sit here now at my desk looking out over the river it looks like the rain is easing off, and from a practical perspective this is good because I need to go out to work later. But the feeling, scent and sound of this mornings soft refreshing rain will stay with me, I hope, as I get into the practicalities of the day.

Norfolk Road trip (2)

2009-05-08T10:59:00.008+01:00

A new day and a new trip with no plans other than to explore! I start off along the small country roads and start to “collect” village signs - it seems that every village here has an ornate sign with its name on, usually in the middle of the village next to the green and the village pub. Norfolk is known to be a very flat county, and although it doesn’t have anything much approaching hills, the land does rise and fall, and as one gets to the top of a rise you can suddenly see the sea sparkling in the distance.

By following where I see the water is, I come to a tiny place called Bancaster Stythe and take the beach road. Driving down this I first see a sign warning that the road is liable to “tidal flooding”. As I drive the road is wet and there are pools of water - I have my windows open and you can smell the salt water - yes, it really must just flood each high tide! Getting to the end of the road there is a private area for a sailing club, one building, and a public car park. There is an attendant there taking money for parking, so I decide to just turn around and splash my way back out again - my pretty black car is getting dirty!!

Driving along the coast road I come to Burnham Deepdale, and spot somewhere that looks like a nice place for breakfast on this Sunday morning. One of the issues I have with this part of the world is that there seems to be few places open for breakfast, but this looks a nice place, and so it proves to be, with lots of people sitting both in the restaurant and outside in the sun. I sit at a table outside and have coffee, then use the bathroom and move on.

One of the interesting things about the country roads around here is that a lot of them are really straight - down in the south east where I’m from roads like this tend to snake in and out and around fields, but here they can just seem to disappear into the distance, and with the horizon that goes on forever and the different land uses as I drive, I am presented with one stunning view after another.

After a while I follow a sign to the Sculthorpe Moor Nature Reserve. Now, I’m not a “twitcher” but being in this area with its migrating birds does make me want to learn more, and I even invested in a pair of binoculars - so I hang these round my neck and go to the entrance of the reserve, which is through the visitors centre. Here I met a volunteer greater - Chris - and he tells me a bit about the place, gives me a map, and generally makes me feel welcome.

The reserve is actually quite small, but very well organised for visitors, with walk-ways over the marsh land, seating and hides where one can observe the wildlife without disturbing it. The riverside path is closed because of nesting birds, but Chris tells me that they have heard their first cuckoo of the season, although I don’t hear it. As I walk round I meet others on the path, and without exception they say hello - I guess it’s the community of bird watchers! This is a very interesting place, and it’s on a bus route from Lynn, so I’m planning on coming back during the summer.

Driving on I pass a number of the dykes which keep this part of the country from being marsh land, and then to the bank of the Great Ouse - out here there are often small communities of two or three houses in the middle of a field, and I wonder how they survive out here. One such “community” of 2 houses has a sign advising that it is “Neighbourhood Watch Area” - well, with just two houses, I guess you could watch the neighbours!

The clouds are getting darker and I can see a storm in the distance, and as I drive on it starts to rain - and I discover that the rental has automatic wipers! I’ve never driven a car with these before, and have always thought them pretty pointless, but actually, I’m now converted, and want them in my next car! We have quite a downpour, and as I drive I hope this is cleaning the car some!

I stop one more time at a Frankie and Benny’s for a late lunch, and am entertained by a table celebrating two birthdays - so the lights are darkened, and we sing “Happy Birthday to you” whilst the waiters bring out a cake - twice! Back home I realise I’ve driven about 100 miles today - in some ways it hardly seems like I’ve been any distance, but I’ve seen so many villages, and so many horizons that I guess I must have.

Norfolk Road Trip (1)

2009-05-06T10:37:00.006+01:00

I don’t currently own a car, so I thought I’d rent one for a few days to get out and about. I collected the car last Friday morning, and the first nice experience - it’s a shiny black dead sexy Fiesta Zetec - and just been delivered to them, so I’m the first driver!

My first trip is back to my house and to collect my GPS and my diet cokes, and off to get gas as the tank’s on empty. It’s a bright sunny day, and I open the windows and turn on the radio as I start off down the main road to Norwich, - this is as good as it gets short of having a convertible!! On a whim I turn off at a sign to Pentney Lakes, a quiet country road, so I turn off the radio and drive slower and listen to the sound of the country. And also the smells of the country, which range from sweet to - how shall I put this - agricultural!

I’m soon at Pentney - a new community of log cabins around a lake. There are still plots for sale with planning permission to build your own cabin, and that would be a nice place to spend a long warm summer. Driving past the community, I get better views of the lake and the birds that live there, and see that they actually spill out not just onto the adjacent field, but onto the neighbouring farmer’s fields. Whilst stopping to look at this, I see what appears to be a bit of a building stuck in the middle of a field - except it’s more like a pillar than anything. But there is no sign and no one to ask so I just take a photo and move on.

As I drive I use my GPS to take me the “shortest routes” - I know that this means I get to use the tiny country roads, and that is exactly what I want! At other times I turn the GPS off and just drive - the fields around here are full of pheasants, and from the amount of road kill one sees, they are also very accident prone. I’m a city boy - and I get excited about seeing real wildlife just being there, so I keep slowing to watch the pheasants and rabbits I pass - and the one dear I spot in the distance!! After a while I get used to the single track, two way roads I'm driving on, and don’t panic when I spot a car coming in the opposite direction, although I do get concerned when it’s an enormous farm tractor - will they actually see me in my tiny car!

It’s now lunchtime, so I ask my GPS where there is a restaurant - it takes me to where is says a Little Chef is - only it’s a field!! However, just down the road is a place called “Hollywood Legends” - and how could I resist with a name like that:) It’s a reasonable place, and next to it is the Legends Car Wash. As I sit down and order, a lady arrives and goes looking to have her car washed - only the worker there is in the restaurant about to have his lunch! In a typical friendly Norfolk way, he says he will leave lunch till later, and the lady says for him to finish.
Lunch over, I set out for the coast, again using the small roads and getting really into the rural heart of Norfolk - mile after mile of straight (but tiny) roads through farm land, and the occasional village of just a few cottages with its village sign, and normally a pub and maybe a store too. Some of the places I drive through are probably too small even to be called a village, just 20 or so houses clustered round the road.

Soon I come to Hunstanton, which is quite a popular seaside resort in these parts - and an interesting one for the east coast; because of the way the coastline works, Hunstanton actually looks out west over the water!! It’s not really high season yet, and I drive into the huge parking lot near the amusement rides and there are only 5 other cars here - along with a duck and her ducklings waddling along the road. I stop here just to use the toilet, then drive on further along to Hunstanton Cliff, and park there.

We are on The Wash here - a strip of water from the North Sea that creates what is almost like a mini sea of its own, and here at low tide the sand goes on for miles. I change out of my jeans and driving shoes into shorts and sandals, and walk out the long way to where the sea is, and one can see why this area can be dangerous - as the tide comes in it will cover these flat areas of sand really quickly, and cut people off surrounded by water.

I spend about an hour on this bit of beach - walking and then just sitting in the sand dunes enjoying the sounds and smells, and the sun on my body. But then I get the urge to move on, so I get back in the car to drive some more - but as it turns out, not far. I follow a sign saying “old Hunstanton” and get to another part of the same beach. Here, however, there are many more sand dunes, with lots of beach huts in and among them.

Beach huts always appeal to me; I’ve never been in one, but they seem to encapsulate the essence of the old fashioned British seaside holiday. No water, no plumbing, no electricity, you’re not allowed to sleep in them overnight, and they are shut up all winter. But a “home away from home” by the sea, somewhere to sit and make a cup of tea on the gas stove you keep there. Or to hide from the rain when we’re on the beach coz it’s a holiday and we WILL enjoy it, whatever the climate thinks! On other beaches these huts are in solid straight lines along the promenade, but these are more random - they are dotted among the dunes and are raised up on stilts, maybe to avoid flooding, maybe to give them a better view?
Getting back to the car, and trying to keep most of the sand outside, I set off again along the coast road to Holm and Holm Dunes nature reserve. Once again I park and set out to walk - and here we need to cross a golf course to get to the dunes. There are signs up to show you where to look, and netting to “hide” behind when they are playing. If Hunstanton showed one face of the British Holiday tradition, here at Holms Dunes we come across another sort of vacation, because it’s along the Norfolk Coast Path, and hikers can be seen even this early in the year walking the 50 miles from Hunstanton to Cromer.

But not for me, for today - I walk out along the wild dunes and out onto the sand flats - no Amusement parks or beach huts here - just the open sea and the dunes. It is a glorious day, sunny, and the sounds of birds carried by the wind. The sort of place that makes you want to just stop the world, and take some quiet time.

Vancouver Quarter

2009-04-08T14:59:00.002+01:00

Now, why would a shopping area in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, UK, be named after a city in Canada? Well, of course it wasn't, it was named after one of King’s Lynn’s most famous sons, Captain George Vancouver, famous for exploring the North West coast of North America. He has cities in Canada and the USA named after him - and also a shopping centre in his town of birth!

So the Vancouver Quarter is a collection of modern-for-Lynn buildings (built in the 1960’s) which has all the shops you might expect for a Market Town this size. But it’s also a centre where things happen. Today as I walked through the town, the local radio station had set up a stand, and one of the Dj’s was there playing music and handing out balloons to the youngsters. An Easter Bunny was there dancing to the music and giving out chocolates. There were a number of small kids having their faces painted, and a group of young, maybe 10 year olds, were dressed up in fairy costumes. To be honest, I’ve no idea if these were part of the show, or their parents thought it would be fun to dress them like that!! A bit further along there are a couple of small carnival rides - when I went past not having much custom, but certainly adding to the brightness of the place.

And it seems that there is often something to see or do here - over the Christmas period there was a ice skating rink put up, and for one day there were reindeer - real live reindeer - in a pen waiting to take Santa Claus on a ride round the town. There have also been a “rock” climbing structure, rides, and various displays over the course of the year.

I guess it comes with being a Market Town that we get people from the area visiting us, and so these things are viable. I certainly know that it makes the town centre a fun place to be a lot of the time:)

If it’s Tuesday....

2009-03-31T13:45:00.004+01:00

When I was looking to move here to Lynn, I thought it pretty cool that they had a place called “Tuesday Market Place”, where they held a market every Tuesday!! Well, what else would it be called? History tells us it was once a huge affair, but nowadays the market stalls only take up about a quarter of the available space in the Market Place.

This Tuesday it’s a sunny spring morning as I walked over to High Street, which is bustling with people shopping and meeting each other. There are also people trying to stop you to sign up for a “good cause”, and there is one of our regular street artists singing his repertoire of pop classics, accompanied by his guitar.

Then I emerge into Tuesday Market Place, and the first sign I see is one offering to buy “scrap gold” - which always seems odd to me - who is it that scraps gold? I go past this and the stall selling underwear and similar items, and then come to a van selling bacon products. I buy a couple of gammon joints from him, which are certainly cheaper than the supermarkets. There are a couple, sometimes 3 or 4 vegetable sellers in the market, but I have my favourite, who sets up in the corner of the market next to The Globe, so I go there next.

This is actually a number of stalls put together, and he sells everything from locally produced veg., to exotic fruits that I’ve never previously heard of. When I first started going to the market, he had cabbages on offer at 2 for £1.20 - I eat a lot of greens, but I asked him how long they would stay fresh. He told me that they’d be good for at least a couple of weeks in the fridge, as they only came out of the field the day before - short of growing them myself, it’s difficult to see how I could get fresher than that! On another occasion - a wet and windy November day, as I paid I was thanked for coming out in the weather to buy at his stall - very good customer service!

Today I get a couple of cabbages, a melon, ginger and garlic, and that’s about all I need for the rest of the week. Then I go to the next stall which is also a regular. This place sells packaged and tinned foods cheaply, and what it has changes from week to week. I’ve previously got things like tins of olives where the labels are torn, dried peppers, stock cubes and other random items. Today, they have their normal selection of cakes and sweets, but nothing that I need so after checking that out, I move on to the next row of stalls.

The second row is more changeable, although there are still a few places you see from week to week. There is a big garden equipment and hardware place, and I stop to look at the solar powered garden lights. They have some in the form of rocks, and I wonder about getting a couple for my patio garden. The stall holder sees me looking and comes to chat, but in the end I decide to leave these for now. Going past other pitches selling ink cartridges, Goth clothing, shirts and jumpers, bedding, more fruit and veg, and mobility scooters, I come to the fish stand which is normally a feature at the end of the second row. I stop and look, but decide against fish at the moment, although the locally caught dressed crap does look appealing.

Rounding the corner past the hot snacks van, I start down the third row, and first there is another place I wanted to look at, the plant seller. They have masses of flowers, tubas and bulbs, but no tomatoes plants, which is what I was interested in. I almost buy some seedling lettuce, but as I wasn't sure where I’d plant them, I decided against. Walking along I come to a stall I’d not seen before selling things like chocolate covered nuts, Turkish delight and olives - I love fresh olives, so I buy some to have in my salad tonight.
Coming back again along the second row, I stop to look at the clothes place - not the Goth one! - and have a look at what he has in the way of men’s shirts. I end up being sold 3 buttoned short sleeved cotton shirts for £5 - another bargain, and another bag to carry.

So with my carrier bags I wend my way back through the market, down the High Street and home. It may not be as big as it was in olden days, but it’s still a vibrant part of the community, and a delight to shop at. The supermarkets may offer a wider range of products, and be more predictable, but Tuesday Market is a great shopping experience, and the best place to get fresh local produce.

So if it’s Tuesday, it must be Tuesday Market Place.

Time Travel

2009-03-25T10:14:00.002Z

This is an old property that I live in - the buildings were originally put up in 1650 - so they are older than the USA:) The buildings actually form a square built around a courtyard, which is now a calm oasis of grass and flower beds - a lot different from when it was the hub of a commercial enterprise I'm sure!! The courtyard has also got some old timbers which form an enclosed seating area - these are old roofing timbers from part of the building that no longer exists.

Back in 1650, when Lynn was the second biggest port in England, this building was a shipping merchant’s home and workplace - what is now my tiny one bed room cottage was then the end part of the main warehouse which went right down to the water’s edge. Most of this has been demolished and is open, and when you look at the cottage knowing that, it’s easy to see the difference between the original brick work, and the later changes. As I sit looking out my window towards the river, on my right there is a moss covered 6 foot high brick wall which marks the boundary of what was the merchant’s property. The other side of that wall is our private parking lot, marked out into bays. There have only been private dwellings here for a relatively short amount of time (which in Lynn means less that a hundred years), and the parking lot was previously a coal merchant’s yard.

In the wall is a gate to the parking lot and next to that is a really old hand water pump - the original water supply to the warehouse!!! As you go through the gate, the house to the right seems like it’s part of the same complex, but on closer inspection it’s not actually attached to this building at all. This is another courtyard building - smaller in size than my complex, but actually owned and lived in by one family. Walking past this house there is another gateway in a wall that seems even older than the original walls in my cottage - these are the remnants of yet another Shipping Merchant’s home and warehouse - actually, this is almost all that remains of it, as it has been rebuilt into private apartments.

Going through the gate here, there is a private path through bushes, and then you come to a public right of way - if you turned left this path goes under the new apartments to the riverbank - and under the other part that remains of the older building - a wall with a low beam that you need to duck under if you are more than about 5 foot 10. In front is a raised garden, and again this is a private area for more old houses hidden away back there.

But turning right and going away from the river, you walk under an arch which is part of the building fronting onto Queen Street - and suddenly from the quiet country feel of the backyards, you are in the bustle of a busy street. It’s a two minute walk, but feels almost like time travel, from the 17th to 21st Centuries!

Walk the Walks

2009-03-21T18:22:00.003Z

On the edge of Historic Lynn is an open area of park called “The Walks”, and the first question I had about them was - why are they called The Walks? Well it seems that back in the 18th Century the rich considered it cool to promenade and needed somewhere nice to walk and be seen. And so they planned tree lined walks - paved with gravel to raise them above the marsh land that surrounded Lynn. Hence we still have “The Walks” which are a nationally listed landscape.

So much for history - what do they feel like? Well. I’ve been here for about 8 months, so have seen them in late summer, fall, winter, and now as spring makes itself felt, and in all those seasons they’ve been a quiet and relaxing, and invigorating and bright.

Entering the park from the west, you are presented with a long tree-lined avenue with a stream running on your right, and leading to a low stone structure. As you approach this it becomes clear that this is an old stone gate and bridge, which was once part of the town walls. Just the other side of the wall the water course has been made to form a small island with a band stand. Further along the area to the left opens up and is a large expanse of green where people play impromptu football games, throw ball and push their prams. This area is surrounded by impressive trees, and has the feel of being separate from the rest of The Walks. In the winter, during a really wet spell, this area was so waterlogged that pools developed and there were ducks and gulls on them! The whole area around Lynn used to be marsh land, and you could see then why the 18th century avenues were raised from the surrounding land - we wouldn’t want the gentry getting their feet wet, would we?

Coming to the other end of the Walks, and turning left, we get to the grand avenue, which is the smartest in terms of trees and street furniture, with elegant lighting and ironwork benches. I hear that the local council spent many millions restoring this area, and here it really looks like it was money well spent. Walking along here there is a children’s playground on the left, and then a small café.

Further along, and there is a raised area of land with an ancient looking structure - this is called “The Red Mound” and is a tiny circular chapel, and sign on it says Chapel of Our Lady of the Mount 1485. I hear it’s open to the public from time to time, but have yet to actually get there when it is.

We then pass St Johns church, and come to a formal garden which is known as St James Park, and its centrepiece of a stone fountain. There are pretty formal plantings here and is well cared for, and also well used when the sun is out.

It takes maybe 30 minutes to walk slowly round The Walks, and you get to see ancient architecture, old trees, rivers flowing, people playing and walking, abundant birds life and occasional squirrels - all in one neat historic bundle.

Wenns public house

2009-03-18T11:12:00.005Z

When I was new in the town, I asked the landlady why the name of the pub was Wenns - it has a picture of a sale boat outside, and I wondered if it was the name of the type of boat, or something like that. But I was told no - the original 17th century place was a temperance guest house, run my two sisters by the name of Wenn - hence Wenns:) And although it now sells beer, and doesn't have overnight guests, it's been in the hospitality business to this day!

To some extent you can see the development of the place over the years in the structure - as you enter from the corner of High Street and Saturday Market Place, you come into an upper bar, and this used to be the "snug" - and I've been told that up to about 30 years ago you had to have a tie on before you could be served in this bar! Here there are comfy chairs and tables, and bar stool where the "more mature" people can sit and chat. Off of this is another room with a pool table, and the door to the "smoking area" - although most of the smokers seem to congregate outside the pub, rather than use this.

Down two stairs takes you to the larger bar area, which would have been a separate bar in previous days, and has its own entrance in Saturday Market Place. This is a longer bar, with tables and chairs but also has a few bar stools too. The jukebox is here, and this is the main "congregating" part of the place. When they did food, you ate it at the tables in this area.

Further along you go under some wood beams to an area set up with big trestle tables and benches. This always seems odd to me, but now I know that this used to be a completely different building - a previous owner bought it and extended the bar into it. Here is where the bands set up for live music, and also where the quiz and poker nights happen.

Like all pubs right now, it's struggling - they stopped doing food recently because they were spending more on providing it that it was making. But they have not taken the strategy I see some other places have of shutting on quiet nights. Some days you will go by and see no one in there but the barmaid - and at others there will be a smattering of people there.

I for one would be sad should such an historic part of the community be forced to close, and hope they ride out the current economic storm. Certainly it is a friendly and welcoming place, and something of a centrepiece to Historic Lynn.

Tides

2009-03-15T06:43:00.004Z

This is the first time I've actually lived where I have a view of a tidal river, and I'm coming to understand some more of the dynamics of the tides. There's about 6 hours between high and low tides, so it's reasonable to assume that the water flows in or out at a steady rate during those times - reasonable, but wrong!!

In fact, the tide coming in is really dramatic and takes very little time - the water surges in and sometimes looks like a fast flowing mountain stream - only it's going "up-hill"!!! At other times you get the feel for the power that there is behind the water - the surface is calm and flat, but constantly moving and revolving. The occasional boat going against the tide makes huge bow waves and really pushes against the flow - and yet moves so slowly against that power.

The water rises and the mud banks disappear, and you begin to think that this time maybe the water will just keep on coming, and go over the banks. But then, imperceptibly at first, there is a change and a slowing, and for a few brief moments the water is still, and we are at high tide. And then the thing happens that seems a miracle - the water starts moving in the opposite direction. Suddenly there is a strong flow out to sea - "downhill" again! The mud banks come back into view and the powerful river becomes a calm stream again, just flowing gently down to the sea.

Low tide last longer than high tide - and the river is a gentle and calm meander for a time, before we once again experience the power and splendour of the tide arriving.

Sitting.......

2009-03-10T17:47:00.005Z

Sitting in the morning sun
I'll be sitting when the evening comes
Watching the boats roll in
And I watch 'em roll away again

[Refrain]
Sitting on the dock of King's Lynn
Watching the tide roll in
I'm just sitting on the dock of King's Lynn
Wasting time

I left my home in Essex
Headed up to Norfolk way
'Cause I had nothin to live for
And look like nothing's gonna come my way

So I'm just...
[Refrain]

Look like all thing's gonna change
nothin ever stays the same
I can't do what ten people tell me to do
So I guess I'll remain the same

Sittin here resting my bones
And this loneliness won't leave me alone
It's two thousand miles I roamed
Just to make this dock my home

Now, I'm just...