Jimmy & Riddlesworth's Christmas Pickle - new short story by North Norfolk writer Roger Chamberlain

Jimmy & Riddlesworth's Christmas Pickle is a new Christmas short story for children and adults by North Norfolk writer, Roger Chamberlain. Published by Norwich-based, The Tagman Press, it is now on sale for £0.99 at Amazon for Kindle readers.

Two elf brothers, Jimmy and Riddlesworth work for Santa Claus delivering presents every Christmas. Unlike the other elves they are banned from the workshop, as they have no natural ability to make toys – or skills to make anything else for that matter!

Last December, when they arrived at the North Pole to start work, Santa and the other elves had disappeared along with all the completed Christmas presents. To save Christmas, Jimmy and Riddlesworth decided to make and deliver as many presents as they could.

Were you one of those people lucky enough to receive one of their presents last year?

You don’t know? Well, this story will explain everything!

Link to Tagman Press website

Meet Father Christmas and his reindeer at Fairhaven Garden

Meet Father Christmas and his reindeer at Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden, South Walsham, on Sunday, December 9 from 11am to 5pm.

Follow the woodland trail and find Father Christmas in his traditional yurt with his reindeer Comet and Blitzen, also enjoy children's crafts in the elves workshop, live music and a Christmas mini-market selling gifts and food goodies. Don’t miss Father Christmas arriving on his lawnmower at 11am.

Garden entry is adult £5.50 and concessions £5; child £5 to visit Father Christmas and receive a present (includes garden entry). Booking advised, t. 01603 270449.

Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden is at South Walsham, nine miles east of Norwich, signposted off A47 at B1140 junction. There is wheelchair access throughout the garden, including a Sensory Garden. Visitors requiring special facilities should telephone in advance; mobility scooters available. Dogs are welcome on leads; small charge to cover poop scoop.

The garden is open daily all year (closed Christmas Day). Free entry to tearoom, gift shop and plant sales.

Norfolk Paralympian Danny Nobbs to open 50 Christmas Trees in a Church Dickleburgh

Norfolk shot putter Danny Nobbs, who represented GB at the Beijing Paralympics, will open the ninth annual 50 Christmas Trees in a Church festival at All Saints Dickleburgh, Norfolk on Saturday December 1 at 6pm.

Danny will be piped into the church by Bob Rayson, accompanied by two London 2012 Games Makers, Cathie Davies, who fenced for Wales in the 1998 Commonwealth Games and Mandy Dutton from Pulham Market, along with Annie Chapman, organiser of the annual Ladies Tractor Road Run, who took part in the Torch Relay.

The festival then runs from Sunday, December 2 to Sunday, December 9, open daily 10am to 7pm (closes 4pm on December 9 for prize giving). This year 50 Christmas Trees in a Church is supporting WheelPower www.wheelpower.org.uk, a charity that provides sports wheelchairs for young disabled athletes. Admission is adult £3.50, senior citizens and concessions £3, pre-booked groups £2.75, children under 16 free.

Christmas Trees of all shapes and sizes, some handmade featuring special seasonal messages, will decorate the church, contributed to the event by local businesses, community organisations and children’s groups. The event has a competitive edge, as each organisation that enters has the chance to win prize money in the visitors’ vote for the best trees. There is also a special award for the most innovative tree.

Morning coffee, light lunches and teas are served every day throughout the festival in Dickleburgh Church Rooms (next to the church). Group visits are very welcome.

Event organiser Rev’d Norman Steer said: “I love the Christmas Trees. It is a good week for me. The church expresses its love in a way that people can understand. I want visitors to be themselves and know that they are welcome and will be cared for during their visit. The best part is the smiles on the faces of all ages when they leave. We are aiming to raise enough money to fund a new sports wheelchair, which will go to a young athlete in Norfolk. I would like to thank Eastern Counties Access Solutions and TWP Designs for sponsoring the event and Active Norfolk for their support and advice. ”

Dickleburgh village is to the north of Diss, just off the A140. For group bookings and further information tel. 01379 854245, www.50christmastrees.com.

David Dane's Broadland in Print - exhibition at Fairhaven Garden Norfolk

Broads artist David Dane returns to Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden, South Walsham, for the second year running with Broadland in Print, an exhibition of giclee prints, from Saturday, November 24 to Sunday December 2, open daily 10am- 4pm, free entry to exhibition.

Broadland in Print features giclee prints on canvas and fine art paper of many popular paintings from David Dane’s original oils exhibitions, including the late Eric Edwards, wherries and wherry yachts and winter in the Broads.

The ethereal and atmospheric Broadland images created by David Dane have taken the Broads landscape to a worldwide audience for more than 40 years. Jenny White from Artists and Illustrators magazine commenting on David Dane's work said: "David Dane's Broadland is a land of mystery, poised between this world and the next."

This empathy for the landscape expressed in David's work is a result of a life-long love affair with the Broads. He has lived in the area since the age of five, exploring the waterways and marshlands and gradually developing his own particular artistic style.

In the 80s and 90s, much of David's work was put into print by Rosenstiels of London. But since then, he has mainly concentrated on his biennial exhibitions of original oils. For 12 years these were held at the Norfolk Wildlife Trust's Ranworth Broad information centre. However, the most recent exhibition Whispering Reeds was held at Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden in November 2011.

"A selection of prints, included in the 2011 exhibition, were well received," said David Dane, "so, with the support of Louise Rout and the Fairhaven team, I decided to return with a print only exhibition this year. I am a conservationist and environmentalist. It is my greatest wish that others may experience the true beauty and fragility of our natural world through my paintings."

Louise Rout, Manager Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden said: "We are really looking forward to David Dane's Broadland in Print following the success of Whispering Reeds. The exhibition will be staged in our visitor reception building, which doubles as an exhibition and workshop space during the winter."

For more information about David Dane see www.dfdaneoilpaintings.co.uk, tel. 01692 584938.

Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden is at South Walsham, nine miles east of Norwich, signposted off A47 at B1140 junction, www.fairhavengarden.co.uk , tel. 01603 270449. Garden entry is adult £5.50, concessions £5 and child £3 (under 5 free).

The garden is open daily all year (closed Christmas Day), free entry to tearoom, gift shop and plant sales. There is wheelchair access throughout the garden, including a Sensory Garden. Visitors requiring special facilities are advised to telephone in advance, mobility scooters available. Dogs are welcome on leads; small charge to cover poop scoop.

Image: Daybreak at Sutton Fen by David Dane

New Fairhaven Primrose Collection Planting Day – Thursday 15 November

The gardening team at Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden, South Walsham, Norfolk, is launching the new Fairhaven Primrose Collection on Thursday 15 November. Some 1,000 of the new primroses, created for the garden by local primrose expert Howard Lupton, will be planted from 10.30am.

Visitors are very welcome to join in the celebration and plant some primroses, but should come equipped with their own gloves and trowel.

This new variety of primrose, ranging in colour from white to lilac and purple, will flower in February and March, when 5,000 of the plants will be in place.

The Fairhaven Primrose Collection will also go on sale at Fairhaven Garden from 15 November. Plants are £1.20 each, three for £2.95, or five for £4.50, with 10% of sales going to the Lymphoma Association www.lymphomas.org.uk.

Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden is at South Walsham, nine miles east of Norwich, signposted off A47 at B1140 junction, www.fairhavengarden.co.uk, tel. 01603 270449. Garden entry is adult £5.50, concessions £5 and child £3 (under 5 free).

The garden is open daily all year (closed Christmas Day), open 10am to 4pm during the winter, free entry to tearoom, gift shop and plant sales. There is wheelchair access throughout the garden, including a Sensory Garden. Visitors requiring special facilities are advised to telephone in advance, mobility scooters available. Dogs are welcome on leads; small charge to cover poop scoop.

Miracle in Kigali - ebook edition published

An ebook edition of Miracle in Kigali has been published by The Tagman Press www.tagmanpress.com.

The ebook is available on Amazon, Kobo, Waterstones.com and Apple iBooks. For more information and links to ebook stores click here:  
http://bit.ly/VuncpB

To buy Miracle in Kigali (traditional printed version) click here:  
http://bit.ly/YKDcTr