I mentioned Hethersett Herald in yesterday's blog and every day seems to bring up a new story.
I'm already up to 125 pages and a couple of days ago I heard that our MP is standing down at the next election (I commented on this yesterday) and now the lease of the Queen's Head pub is up for sale.
I'm a regular in the Queen's and landlords Richard and Philippa Bond and their staff have made it a lovely friendly place to eat and drink. I know it may be some time before they leave but I will miss them greatly (but don't tell them that). Richard was kind enough to phone me on Saturday morning to explain the situation. There is no way the Queen's will shut. The couple are looking to retire but won't do so until a new leaseholder is found. So there's no chance that the Queen's will join the King's in closing its doors.
I'm sure I will be writing much more on this in the future.
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Have you ever met anyone famous grandad asked one of the grandchildren? I forget which one.
Well it depends on what you class as famous. I have met R J Ellory and John Howard but they aren't exactly famous despite the fact that the former is a top selling author (check him out) and the latter is one of the best singer songwriters this country has produced and in the 1970s was tipped to be bigger than Elton John (check him out - John Howard that is and not Elton John).
I've met Benny from Crossroads without his Benny hat and lots of people that have been consigned to the "people whom we have never heard of" file such as Lance Percival and Cy Grant. I have met people like jazzman Chris Barber and many other rock musicians and singers such as Toyah and I once spoke to one of the Stranglers on the telephone (he made such an impact that I can't remember which one).
When I was writing my rock music column in the Eastern Evening News (now the Norwich Evening News) record labels often set up telephone interviews. Probably the artists hated doing this. Ian McNabb doesn't much care for the Media but I think I managed to convince him that I was and still am a fan of his songwriting.
Ian who, I hear you ask which just proves my point about whether people I have met/spoken to are famous? Ian McNabb fronted a greatly underrated Liverpool band by the name of the Icicle Works. He then went solo and recorded an excellent album with the band Crazy Horse who often support Neil Young, but I seem to be wandering off the point here.
Had a spooky moment as I was writing this. I had just mentioned Toyah when a message saying Thank You from Toyah came up. It was in reference to one of her websites. I'm sure I have said this before. Toyah is married to Robert Fripp who fronts one of my favourite all time bands King Crimson.
Fripp is one of the most innovative guitarists we have ever produced. I can't say I like all of his work but I admire him as a musician. During lockdown, Toyah and Robert started a number of interactive websites where they talked directly to their fans and discussed their careers and life in general.
They also started something called Robert and Toyah's Sunday lunch where they played their versions of famous rock songs. Every time Robert made a mistake he shouted the word b------s. It is still going and great fun. All this is very surprising when you consider that Fripp had a reputation of being difficult to get on with and a bit taciturn. His lockdown efforts showed him to be great fun.
The couple live in the Cotswolds and have talked about their town. I often imagine wandering into their local tea rooms and finding no seats apart from at their table. We then engage them in conversation not letting on that we know who they are and then ask them the most banal questions before admitting we knew all along.
But back to famous people I have met. So many professional footballers from my days as a sports reporter and editor. I will just mention my favourites - men like the lovely Joe Royle, always willing to chat and share a cup of tea, Steve Bruce who was always good to be around, Mick Maguire and John Deehan both of whom supported events I was helping to organise. There were many many more but I need to stop now before I send everyone to sleep.
So the answer to have you met any famous people grandad is "yes possibly."
Oh there's a couple I forgot although they aren't a couple if you know what I mean. There's international opera singer Elizabeth Watts who comes from Little Melton and who had sung all over the world and then there's Sam Clemett and this is another one of those stars where you say who?
Sam comes from Norfolk and we came across him regularly when he was the Saturday boy at a Norwich cafe we used to frequent. It was called Morellos and was owned by somebody I used to work with at the Police.
Steve Halstead was a police inspector. When he retired he bought a share in Cafe Morello which for local people who know the city was opposite what was Debenhams and on the small courtyard leading up to Looses kitchen shop. Steve and family eventually took sole control of the cafe.
I put together and ran a website for Morellos until it was eventually sold and turned into a Carribbean restaurant. I must have a look on the internet to see if there are any vestiges of that site left.
Sam had a Saturday job there and we used to chat to him about his life, his future and football. He was very friendly and a sunny person. He told us he wanted to be an actor.
Now Sam is one of our best actors. He has appeared on television and his main claim to fame to date is taking the lead role in the stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. He has recently appeared on television in Queen Charlotte which is a spin off from the period drama Bridgerton. We have been following his career with great interest. We miss Morellos. It was a good place to go and relax and the food was good.
When you ordered at the counter you had to give the name of a famous person. When your food was ready Steve would shout out
"Charlie Chaplin" or "David Beckham" or other names given.
I remember one day somebody said "Adolf Hitler." When it was shouted out there was a chorus of boos throughout the cafe.
I suppose if it was still going we could now say Sam Clemett.
Incidentally my family and Steve's knew each other long before I worked with Steve at the Police. Somehow my mother and father knew Steve's parents Florrie and Everett who lived on Ipswich Road in Norwich. I have a photograph of the Halstead family on one of their visits to see us when we lived at the shop. I also have vague memories of going to their home.
I particularly liked Everett who came from Lancashire and was always sunny and fun.
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On Saturday we paid our first visit of the season to watch Hethersett and Tas Valley play cricket. It's our first team's debut season in the Norfolk Alliance Premier Division and at the moment we are struggling without a win from our first four matches. It's a tough ask for our young side who will only improve as they get more experienced.
So far it's been success all the way for the club and we've never been relegated. But as they say there's plenty of time and another 16:games to go.
The ground at Flordon looks magnificent. The pitch is in its best condition ever and the clubhouse has been renovated with a new bar area and draught beer on tap. It's a lovely place to spend an afternoon and I was talking about that with Doctor Nick who is a GP and a reader of this blog - so Good Morning Sir.
Nick was extolling the feeling of well being that the place engenders even if you don't like cricket. The ground is set amongst the fishing lakes of the Tas Valley and is one of the prettiest if not the prettiest cricket venues in Norfolk.
Just being there energises you. If you want to test this for yourself just pop along on a Saturday where you will always find two games going on.