It's not just a garden but a homage to the American West. David has a model American railroad snaking its way around his garden.
I met David and Jane whilst having coffee recently at Cafe Kin. Jane reads my blogs and recognised me (something I absolutely love) and we had a good old mardle (that's Norfolk for chat by the way) and they invited me to their home to have a look at David's outdoor railway.
A couple of weeks later there I was chatting amongst models of Iron Horses that worked in Milwaukee, Canada and many other places in the USA. It took me back many years to a train ride we had from Grand Central Station in New York to Philadelphia.
David also had another smaller layout in his workshop and this recreated the wild west frontier days of the likes of Davy Crockett. David had an interesting career as an upholsterer making furniture for 10 Downing Street and for the Oscar winning film "The English Patient."
I have sent a piece to the local press and the full story will appear in the next edition of Hethersett Herald which I hope to publish at the end of the month.
In the meantime my story on the crisis at Hethersett Surgery is on the EDP 24 site at https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/health/gp-warning-hethersett-surgery-at-breaking-point-8082594.
The surgery is at breaking point and is opposing yet another 200 homes in the village. I have written quite a hard-hitting comment piece for the next Hethersett Herald explaining why at times I get to screaming point. We cannot continue to take new homes in at the current rate without the infrastructure and facilities to go with them. That is a basic fact of life that developers and the powers that be don't seem to understand in any way.
Yes we welcome new people to our village (we were one once) but it needs the right amount of back-up to go with it. Proper education and medical facilities, proper retail and social facilities and much more. These need to be in place as development continues and not just get overlooked as companies come in, build and then move on to somewhere else.
I'm sure that these comments will also ring a bell with my non Hethersett readers as I'm sure the same thing is happening throughout the UK.
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Menus make me laugh with their pretentious language. We had occasion to attend the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital yesterday and decided to pop in for a drink at a nearby cafe/tea rooms (actually it's difficult to describe the place -perhaps refectory is a better word). I won't say where this is other than to mention it's close to the hospital and the singing group The Three Degrees might give you a clue.
Anyway on the menu was : Adnams Kobold English lager battered Cod loin, dripping chips, pea puree and lemon balm mayonnaise. That's for the posh people. For me that is fish and chips with mushy peas and mayo.
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What do the following music acts have in common - Rick Wakeman, Madness, Del Amitri, Orchestral Manouevres in the Dark, Blondie, Elbow, New Model Army, The Damned, Marillion, Suzanne Vega, the Human League, Simply Red, UB40, Wet Wet Wet, Level 42 and A Ha?
Answer - they are all hugely established rock/pop acts who will shortly be setting-out on national tours. But not one of them will be playing Norwich.
OK we have the University of East Anglia which attracts top acts but, apart from that and the occasional one at Carrow Road Football Ground (like Elton John next June) we seem to be in a music wilderness without a suitable concert hall venue.
One of my sons has a link with Bexhill on Sea in Sussex. There they have the De La Warr Pavilion. Just look who will be appearing there in the near future - Paul Carrack, Richard Hawley, Rumer, Maximo Park, Lightning Seeds, Jack Savoretti, John Grant, The Undertones, Martha Wainwright, Level 42, The Waterboys, Al Stewart, Belinda Carlisle, Beth Nielson Chapman, The Charlatans, Rick Wakeman, Wolf Alice, Lloyd Cole, Fairport Convention, Marc Almond, Echo and the Bunnyman, Sparks and the Flaming Lips. I would happily go and see any of these and there are plenty more at that venue as well.
Whilst on the subject of rock music I was sad to read of the death of Florian Pilkington Miksa. Now I see some confused expressions amongst my readers. So a Brownie point for anyone who can tell me what instrument he played and what band he was in (without using the Internet).
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My lovely little granddaughter Poppy popped round yesterday evening and helped me to make a You Tube video of all the photographs taken on our day out. She is only six but certainly knows how to crop photos and find her way round Publisher software. She added music to the display and I loved watching it on a large television. I think I gave the link yesterday but here it is again in case you missed it. Please do have a look as it makes me feel wanted!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYjMcw7hmIo&t=176s
Many thanks as always for all the comments about yesterday's blog. I love reading them.
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Sarcasm/irony is alive and well in Norfolk (as it always has been). There are a limited number of two hour slots at the back of the University of East Anglia. We parked there yesterday (whoops think I've given away the location of the refectory). A car had parked across two clearly marked parking spaces. That kind of thing really annoys me as it shows total disregard for anybody else. The driver would have seen clearly how they had parked and could easily have corrected it. But they didn't. When we got back to the car we found somebody had left a message on the windscreen of that car. The wording was "Why park in one space when two will do. Idiot." Couldn't have put it better myself.
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Why is it when leaving messages on mobile phones people speed up and gabble rather than speaking clearly? Anne received a message from Specsavers yesterday which I tried to unravel for her. It was simply confirming an appointment but the person went on to describe the COVID restrictions in place and spoke so quickly that I couldn't understand them. Message to people leaving messages. Speak slower than you normally would and not quicker. This is particularly important when leaving a contact number. I always speak very slowly when doing this and always repeat the number. If spoken too quickly it's impossible for the brain to catch the numbers even of you have a pen and paper handy.
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I am currently working on a Norfolk Snippets feature for the coming September edition of Norfolk Ancestor. This is the quarterly magazine of Norfolk Family History Society and is available to members of the society. I am a trustee of the society and responsible for the quarterly magazine which is sent free either to paid up members in written or electronic versions.
So this feature will include bits and pieces picked up on my travels. Interesting snippets such as the founder of Lord's Cricket Ground living in Diss, Horatio Nelson organising a game of cricket whilst at war and Norfolk's trading connection with the Black Death.
If you are interested in family history and genealogy research why not consider becoming a member of the Norfolk Family History Society. Full details of how to join are on the official website at
https://www.norfolkfhs.org.uk/
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Who has the most interesting tune to announce that a household appliance has finished its work. My washing machine plays Mozart. Any others that might be of interest?