There was one that I was particularly pleased with. It had one of the riders looking directly at my camera with a broad grin on his face. I must endeavour to find out the name of the rider and send a copy to him! You can see this photograph opposite. It takes a real man to grin through the pain barrier!
If you are interested in viewing the photos you can do so by clicking here. Now the race is well and truly over, it's time to take stock and record the event for history. I see my function in Hethersett as a recorder and reporter on what is going on in the hope it will be of some interest to future generations. Historians and genealogists researching the past have always been hampered by a lack of recorded evidence. With the internet, blogs,diaries and social media, researchers in the future will have no trouble finding out what it was like living in the early decades of the 21st century.
Yesterday was the last day of the Norwich Heritage Weekend and I think we made the most of things this year. We managed to fit in two more visits - Earlham Hall and the Plantation Garden. The first was a very interesting hour being shown round Earlham Hall which is now part of the faculty of law of the University of East Anglia. It was a good lesson on the history of the building which at various times has also been a maternity hospital but is best known for its association with the Quakers, the Gurney family, Barclays Bank and Elizabeth Fry.
Elizabeth Fry is primarily known as a prison reformer but she was also involved in numerous other acts of public altruism. In fact she sounds like a thoroughly good egg. Despite all her public work, she still had time to have 11 children! Today Elizabeth Fry (nee Gurney) is immortalised on the £5 note. Most of the rooms in Earlham Hall are now classrooms and offices, but we did get a feeling for its past.
Then it was onto one of the most fascinating places in Norwich. Right next to the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Earlham Road and just a few minutes walk from City Hall there is a small, almost hidden, entrance that leads to the Plantation Garden. Once inside the vista opens up into a wonderful panorama of Italianate delight. A massive fountain is just one of the features of a garden that stretched back into the distance and includes some very ornate work. You can climb up to a walkway that overlooks the whole garden.
If you visit Norwich or live there and have never been, do give it a look. You will be gobsmacked as you walk in to what is essentially a hidden gem.
Continuing on the heritage trail meant we missed Hethersett and Tas Valley's second trophy in consecutive weeks as they won the Bernard Matthews limited overs cup to add to the shield won the previous week. These are good times for our cricket club.
Later in the evening watched the new version of the J.B Priestley play "An Inspector Calls" starring Ken Stott. It was a good adaptation and was well acted and made a great contrast to the previous week's "Lady Chatterley's Lover." Next week we have "The Go Between." The BBC must be congratulated for bringing us some classic drama.