Fairhaven Garden - Stephen Mole Norfolk Landscape Photography Exhibition January 6 to 18

 Eels Foot (before renovation) Norfolk Broads. Photograph - Stephen Mole 

Norfolk Broads based photographer Stephen Mole is staging an exhibition of photographs of iconic Norfolk landscapes at Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden, South Walsham, in the heart of the Norfolk Broads, from Tuesday 6 to Sunday 18 January, open 10am to 4pm daily. Entry to the exhibition is free (charge for garden entry).

Stephen Mole said: “Born and bred in Norfolk, I have always been inspired by the wide open skies and wonderful light that makes this part of the world so 'special'. Many of the images that I capture are influenced by the Norfolk Broads, along with the Norfolk coastline.”

“I try to photograph images that not only record the beauty of the county, but also portray my own 'impression' of the place. My aim is to give you a glimpse of just how the world looks through my eyes! I feel I've succeeded if the person looking at the image finds themselves thinking 'I wish was I was there'.”

For more information about Stephen Mole see www.stephenmolephotos.com.

Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden is at South Walsham, nine miles east of Norwich, signposted off A47 at B1140 junction, t. 01603 270449, www.fairhavengarden.co.uk.

The garden is open daily all year 10am to 5pm (closed Christmas Day and closes 4pm during the winter), also open Wednesdays until 9pm from May to the end of August. Free entry to tearoom, gift shop and plant sales.
There is wheelchair access throughout the garden, including a Sensory Garden and boat trips (April to October, additional charge). Visitors requiring special facilities are advised to telephone in advance, mobility scooters available.

Dogs are welcome on leads; small charge to cover poop scoop.

We Are Here Already – Norwich 20 Group at The Forum, Norwich – January 12-23

Norwich 20 Group’s (N20G) first exhibition of 2015, WE ARE HERE ALREADY, at The Forum in Norwich, from January 12 to 23, features more than 60 members of the group, which celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2014. Visitors to the exhibition will be able to meet N20G members every day from 10am to 6pm.

The exhibition’s title, WE ARE HERE ALREADY, is taken from a work by the late David Holgate, former Chairman of N20G, who sadly passed away in 2014.  We are here already is coloured letter carving on slate. The work will be at the heart of The Forum exhibition, as a tribute to David.

David Holgate, coloured letter carving on slate

David Holgate was N20G Chairman in 2007 and set up the group’s licentiate scheme. Every year, up to four graduates from Norwich University of the Arts are invited to become licentiate members, and exhibit with the group for 12 months, after which they are eligible to be elected as full members.  Six former licentiates will be exhibiting at The Forum: Linda Chapman, Emma Cracknell, Henry Jackson Newcomb, Rebecca Kemp, Andy Reeve and Laura Such and three current licentiates, Anthony George, Davide Lakshmanasamy and Helen Piffero.

I crave no other, nor no better man.(acrylic on canvas) by Linda Chapman,
illustrating Mariana's choice at the end of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure.

N20G is combining with Norfolk Contemporary Craft Society and Norwich Contemporary Art Society for the first time, to stage a David Holgate retrospective exhibition at The Hostry, Norwich Cathedral in December 2015. Two of David Holgate’s finest works, sculptures of Julian of Norwich and St Benedict, are located on the west front of the Cathedral.

Martin Battye, Chairman N20G said: “David Holgate was one of the most enthusiastic members of Norwich 20 Group, always encouraging and supportive. The licentiate scheme is his legacy to the group and it is very appropriate that the title of our first exhibition of 2015 is a tribute to the man and his work. We will also miss his musical talent; his jazz trio with David on double bass, played for many years at our private view evenings.”    

Selected N20G members are currently exhibiting at Mandell’s Gallery (until January 10).  Work from past and current N20G members is included in Modern Art in Norwich, an exhibition at the Timothy Gurney Gallery, Norwich Castle Museum & Art Gallery, which runs until May. N20G is also planning an exhibition of large works in The Undercroft (below Norwich Memorial Gardens) in June.

Norwich 20 Group
N20G was founded by Walter Thomas Watling, art master at CNS, supported by Aileen Law, art teacher at Blyth School and 12 other local artists.  Stimulated by contemporary art movements, they wanted to raise standards of local professional art to something worthy of Norfolk’s artistic history.

N20G now has more than 80 members from across Norfolk.  All aspects of the practice of contemporary fine art are represented, sculpture, print, photography, painting, digital media and installations.

Over the years N20G has included nationally known artists, for example, Michael Andrews, Bernard Reynolds, Edward Barker, Leslie Davenport, Mary Newcomb, Jeffery Camp RA, and Cavendish Morton. Many current and past members have received patronage, exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and Galleries in East Anglia, London and internationally, with works in both private and public collections. Some have received prestigious awards, including election to the Royal Academy.

N20G has strong links with Norwich's twin cities and has held joint exhibitions with Novi Sad, Rouen, Koblenz and El Viejo.

Boxing Day and New Year’s Day Guided Walks at Fairhaven Garden, Norfolk Broads

Join Ian Guest, Head Gardener at Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden, South Walsham for a guided walk in the garden on Boxing Day, Friday, December 26 and New Year’s Day, Thursday, January 1, both starting at 11am.

Garden admission, including the guided walks, is adults £6.10, concessions £5.60 and children £3.60 (under 5 free). The walks last 1½ hours and a complimentary mince pie and glass of mulled wine will be on offer at the end.

Highlights include the massive 950-year old King Oak and other ancient oak and beech trees and the views across South Walsham Inner Broad. Learn about the history of the garden, the collection of plants introduced by the 2nd Lord Fairhaven and the organic working methods still used today.

Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden is at South Walsham, nine miles east of Norwich in the heart of the Norfolk Broads, signposted off A47 at B1140 junction, www.fairhavengarden.co.uk, t. 01603 270449.

The garden is open daily all year, open 10am to 4pm during the winter (closed Christmas Day), 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.

50 Christmas Trees in a Church Dickleburgh – The Winners

The 11th annual 50 Christmas Trees in a Church at All Saints Dickleburgh, drew to a close on Sunday, December 7, with the prize-giving for the 23 most popular trees voted by visitors to the festival.

Langmere Garden Club Christmas Tree

Langmere Garden Club’s tree was the winner in the adult category for the second year running with ‘Winter in the Potting Shed’ including Bill and Ben. Pink Ladies Tractor Road Run (for Cancer Research UK) came second with a sparkling pink tree and RBL Dickleburgh Branch were third with ‘Twas the night before Christmas’ filled with larger-than-life mice and with reindeer circling above.

Gissing Children Centre's Christmas Tree

Gissing Children’s Centre won the children’s category for the third year running with their bold and colourful ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’. Burston Community Primary School was second with a tree in a globe and children’s wishes for the world. Archbishop Sancroft ‘A’ Team came third with an exquisite tree decorated with ‘stained glass’ biscuits.

Archbishop Sancroft High School Maths Department winner of the Nick Arnull Plate

The Nick Arnull Plate, for the most innovative tree, was awarded by the organisers to Archbishop Sancroft High School’s Maths Department for their tetrahedron tree. There were many other immensely creative trees in the festival: 1st Harleston Cubs’ wigwam, 1st Pulham Brownies’ triangular tubes, Sarah’s Gardening Services’ flowered cone, Waveney & District Gateway Club’s ‘Signs of Christmas’ in sign language and Ormiston Families’ present boxes with a prison cell reflecting their work with prisoners’ families, to name but a few.

Some £3,000 will be donated to the festival’s designated charities, Elizabeth’s Legacy of Hope and Ormiston Families.

Brian Leeder, Church Warden at Dickleburgh and one of the festival’s organisers said: “We have had an excellent week, with lots of visitors, especially at the weekends. We also had local school and playgroup visits during the festival, along with lots of Brownies and Beavers.”

Revd James Roskelly, Rector of The Benefice of Dickleburgh and the Pulhams, added: “I would particularly like to thank all the volunteers who have helped set up the church and look after visitors throughout the Christmas Tree festival. Thanks also go the local organisations and businesses who contributed such a superb collection of decorated trees; many congratulations to all the winners.”

For more information about 50 Christmas Trees in a Church see www.50christmastrees.com.

New Greater Yarmouth Tourism & Business Improvement Area to Grow Tourism Industry

David Marsh GYTBIA Inter Chairman with the Mayor of Great Yarmouth, Councillor Marlene Fairhead launching the 2015 Greater Yarmouth brochure at The Boathouse

The new Greater Yarmouth Tourism and Business Improvement Area (GYTBIA) launched its 2015 campaign on Tuesday, December 9 at The Boathouse, Ormesby St Margaret, to an audience of more than 200 local tourism and business professionals.

An initial 21 projects will be funded from GYTBIA’s £304,000 marketing and events budget, financed through the Business Improvement Area (BIA) levy.

Over the five years of the BIA, more than £2 million will be generated through the levy. The aim is to grow Greater Yarmouth’s £530 million industry by 12%, achieving an additional £63 million a year and 1200 more jobs by 2020. Currently 29% of the working population in the borough is supported by tourism, comprising more than 10,000 equivalent full time jobs.

David Marsh, Interim Chairman said: “The new GYTBIA provides a fantastic opportunity for the local tourism industry. The Borough Council has done a great job promoting tourism and developing infrastructure over the years in the face of increasing cuts and growing competition for the UK holiday pound. But, with the advent of the BIA, the private sector is now bringing vital funding to the table which, in partnership with the Borough Council, will make a sea change in the way we promote the resort.”

“Tourism is a key sector in the borough’s economy; some £130 million, or 24.5% of the annual tourism spend, is contributed by tourism businesses spending with other businesses. We all benefit from the tourism pound. We look forward to working with partners across the industry to make a real difference over the next five years.”

Twenty-nine projects, submitted by BIA levy payers, were considered at GYTBIA’s first full board meeting on November 26. The total cost of the projects was £525,000. The BIA marketing and events budget is £304,000. Twenty-one priority projects were identified. The other projects remain under consideration and more ideas are very welcome.

These key marketing and events projects are only possible thanks to the BIA levy.
 More Great Yarmouth Fireworks evenings
 Hemsby Summer Fireworks
 Gorleston Christmas Lights fireworks
 Sky TV advertising campaign
 Day trippers radio campaign
 Customer research
 Visit England Summer campaign
 PR / Social Media and Email Marketing

Other events and projects identified as high priority include: Beach Volleyball, Martham Scarecrow Festival, Soccer on the Sands, Brush with the Broads (bringing artists to the Broads for a painting festival), an Eating Out campaign, a Heritage promotion, new Hemsby roadside welcome sign, Planet Norfolk TV in Hemsby, support for VisitNorfolk’s marketing work, coaches & group marketing activity, TV advert and website video production and investment in the GYTBIA business support website.

In particular, the GYTBIA has identified that May and June are months in which the Business Improvement Area has capacity for more tourism visitors and so projects and events which animate these months, for example, the Martham Scarecrow Festival, an Eating out campaign or a campaign with a focus on heritage, will help bring more visitors to the area. Free fireworks displays have been proven to boost visitor numbers and additional displays in both Hemsby and Great Yarmouth at key holiday times of year will encourage more staying visitors as well as day trippers. Television advertising has worked extremely well for the resort over the past few years using Sky TV’s new technology, the Greater Yarmouth area’s television advert will be shown to a new audience in a specific area. All priority projects identified at the November board meeting are being worked up now for final approval in January.

The Greater Yarmouth Tourism & Business Improvement Area, whose 24 directors are all volunteers from across the tourism industry, is a not for profit company with these aims:
 To increase the number of people visiting and staying in Greater Yarmouth
 To improve the visitor experience and increase repeat visits
 To encourage people to stay longer and visit more attractions
 To provide incentives and opportunities for local businesses

GYTBIA is the first tourism business improvement area in East Anglia.

With 65,000 bed spaces across the Borough, nearly a third of all holiday nights spent in Norfolk are tourists staying in Greater Yarmouth. Nearly 25% of all holidays nights spent in Norfolk and Suffolk combined are taken in the Borough of Great Yarmouth. www.great-yarmouth.co.uk 

Fairhaven Garden, Norfolk Broads 6 December – Visit Father Christmas in his Magical Woodland Garden

Father Christmas arriving at Fairhaven

Tickets are still available to visit Father Christmas in his Magical Woodland Garden at Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden, South Walsham on Saturday 6 December, from 11am to 4pm. Tickets for Sunday 7 December are now sold out.

Follow the trail through the trees to meet reindeer Comet and Blitzen, then visit Father Christmas in his traditional yurt. Explore the garden before returning to the tearoom for hot chestnuts, hot chocolate and some seasonal fare. As dusk descends don’t miss the trail lights and help Father Christmas collect his post box and walk his reindeer.

Tickets are £6.10 adult, £5.60 concessions, £7 per child to visit Father Christmas and receive a present (all prices includes garden entry). Booking is essential to visit Father Christmas.

Christmas Ghost Evening at Fairhaven

There’s also a special evening of Christmas Ghost Stories in Fairhaven’s tearoom on Wednesday 10 December from 6.30pm. Tickets are £10 and include a light evening meal and a glass of wine. Please book in advance.

Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden NR13 6DZ is at South Walsham, nine miles east of Norwich, signposted off A47 at B1140 junction, www.fairhavengarden.co.uk,
t. 01603 270449.

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.

50 Christmas Trees in a Church Dickleburgh - festival opened by Richard Bacon MP

50 Christmas Trees in a Church at Dickleburgh, South Norfolk, was officially opened on Saturday 29 November by Richard Bacon MP. Pictured left to right are: Gale Hodgkinson, Brian Leeder and Mike Hodgkinson Dickleburgh Church, Victorian Bacon Elizabeth's Legacy of Hope, Sarah Softley Ormiston Families, Richard Bacon MP, Rev'd James Roskelly and Rowena Roskelly.

The festival runs until 7 December, is open 10am to 7pm (closes 4pm on 7 December) and is raising money for Elizabeth's Legacy of Hope and Ormiston Families. 

For more information see www.50christmastrees.com​.

50 Christmas Trees in a Church, Dickleburgh, South Norfolk - 30 November to 7 December

50 Christmas Trees in a Church Dickleburgh, South Norfolk

The 11th annual South Norfolk Christmas Tree extravaganza, 50 Christmas Trees in a Church, returns with 53 trees at All Saints Dickleburgh from Sunday, November 30 to Sunday, December 7.

Event organiser Rev James Roskelly said: “We are delighted with the response from the local community, contributing 53 decorated trees to our event. The church will be full of Christmas Trees, celebrating this year’s theme, ‘Signs and Wonders of Christmas’.”

South Norfolk MP Richard Bacon will officially open the Christmas Tree festival at 5pm on Saturday, November 29. The festival is then open daily 10am -7pm, except Sunday, December 7, when it closes at 4pm for the prize giving.

Entrance is free, but there is a charge for the programme and voting slip. The Christmas tree festival is raising money for two charities, Elizabeth's Legacy of Hope and Ormiston Families.

The event has a competitive side, as each organisation that enters a tree has the chance to win prize money in the visitors’ vote for the best adult and children’s tree. There is also a special award for the most innovative tree.

Programme and voting slip charge: adult £3.50, concessions £3, children free and pre-booked groups £2.75 per adult.

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

Dickleburgh village is to the north of Diss, just off the A140. For more information t. 01379 676256, http://www.50christmastrees.com.

Christmas at Bressingham Steam, South Norfolk – Father Christmas, Dad’s Army and Victorian Gallopers

Father Christmas on the Gallopers at Bressingham: photograph James Hoye

Father Christmas, his wife and elves are visiting Bressingham Steam, near Diss, South Norfolk, in the run up to Christmas, arriving every day by steam car. As well as meeting Father Christmas, visitors will be able to enjoy a Dad’s Army Christmas at 'Walmington-on-Sea' and take rides on a steam train and Bressingham’s celebrated Victorian steam Gallopers roundabout.

Father Christmas visits are on 30 November and 6, 7, 13, 14 and 20 to 24 December.  Entry on each day will be from 2pm to 5pm, closing no earlier than 6pm, except for Christmas Eve when entry is from 11am to 2pm. On 14, 21 and 22 December Bressingham Steam will also open from 12noon to 2pm.

Please book in advance to guarantee meeting Father Christmas. Tickets in advance are: adult  £9.50, children 3-12 £11.00 (includes a present) and under 3s £5.00 (for a present). Tickets bought on the day are £1 extra. To book, t. 01379 686900, online www.bressingham.co.uk/Christmas, or in person at the ticket office.

The 'Polar Express' at Bressingham Steam: photograph James Hoye

Steam train rides on the ‘Polar Express’ will be on the 2.5 miles (4km) Nursery Line and the Victorian steam Gallopers, which were built by Savages of King’s Lynn in 1897, will be dressed in Christmas finery with rides for all to enjoy.

The Dad’s Army exhibition, home of the national Dad’s Army collection and recreating Walmington-on-Sea, will also be decorated for Christmas. Walk down the high street and see Captain Mainwaring’s bank, Corporal Jones’ butcher’s shop and enjoy a children’s entertainer in the Church Hall. Children can also dress up in Dad’s Army uniforms.

The Gallopers Café will be open at the same time as the Steam Museum, serving hot drinks, snacks and a range of home made cakes. It’s the perfect place to come and warm up after the rides.

Bressingham Steam IP22 2AA is 2½ miles from Diss on the A1066. T. 01379 686900, www.bressingham.co.uk.

Bressingham Steam & Gardens, reg. charity no. 266374, was founded by the late Alan Bloom in 1961. The Steam Heritage Centre and Gardens are open daily for the main season from April to the end of October.

Magic Moments at Fairhaven Garden – Broads Artist David Dane Exhibition November 22-30

Late Afternoon Turf Fen - David Dane

Renowned Broads artist David Dane returns to Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden  at South Walsham from Saturday 22 to Sunday 30 November 2014 with Magic Moments. This exhibition features a brand new collection of 11 oil paintings, capturing fleeting images of the Broads. There will also be a selection of high-class giclée prints in various sizes. The exhibition is open every day from 10am to 4pm (free entry).

Visitors will be able to meet David, who will be at Fairhaven throughout the exhibition. He has been one of Broadland’s best-known artists for more than 40 years. In the 1980s and 1990s, David took the Broads worldwide with a series of prints, published by Rosentiel’s in London. Jenny White writing about his work in Artists and Illustrators magazine said: “David Dane’s Norfolk is a land of mystery, poised between this world and the next.”

For more information about David Dane see www.dfdaneoilpaintings.co.uk

Winter River Horrning - David Dane

Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden NR13 6DZ is at South Walsham, nine miles east of Norwich, signposted off A47 at B1140 junction, t. 01603 270449, www.fairhavengarden.co.uk. The garden is open daily all year (closed Christmas Day). Garden entry is £6.10 adult, £5.60 concessions and £3.60 child (under 5 free). 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.

Memento Mori – Cambridge World War I Memorials Trail from Art Alive in Churches

Pembroke College Memorial - photograph by Mike Dixon

East Anglian charity, Art Alive in Churches has produced Memento Mori World War I Memorials in Cambridge, a trail leaflet featuring colleges, churches and Mill Road Cemetery. Download the trail leaflet here.

Complementary trail leaflets are also available for Norfolk and Suffolk and can be downloaded from Memento Mori in the projects section of www.artaliveinchurches.com. Leaflets can also be picked up at participating colleges and churches.

Jennie Hawks, Director, Art Alive in Churches said: “Art Alive aims to increase understanding and appreciation of the wealth of heritage, arts and crafts in East Anglian churches.  With this year’s 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War, we decided to focus on the memorials to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the war.”

“The range of memorials is quite amazing. We have selected 10 locations in Cambridge, with 17 in Norfolk and 13 in Suffolk. I recommend exploring our trails as a way to begin to understand the impact of the war on local communities, as well as appreciating the care that went into creating these permanent memorials to the catastrophe of the Western Front, along with Gallipoli, the Middle East campaign and the war at sea. The memorials at Cambridge colleges are a stark reminder of the terrible loss of both students and academics in the war.”

Cambridge churches and colleges featured: Jesus College, Sidney Sussex College, Great St Mary’s, Clare College, St Catharine’s College, Little St Mary’s, St Botolph’s, Pembroke College, Emmanuel College and Mill Road Cemetery.
   

Mill Road Cemetery - photograph by Mike Dixon

Examples of Memorials 

Mill Road Cemetery – there is an online trail at www.millroadcemetery.org.uk featuring 19 First World War Commonwealth War Graves. More than 100 Cambridge men who died overseas are commemorated on family graves. The Friends of Mill Road Cemetery are researching the stories behind these memorials and further trails will be created.

Clare College – the memorial in Clare College Chapel demonstrates the impact of the war on Cambridge colleges. Among the seemingly endless list of names is William Denis-Browne (1888-1915) who was a composer, pianist, organist and music critic. A close friend of Rupert Brooke, he was commissioned into the Royal Naval Division with Brooke and died at Gallipoli on 4 June 1915. Memorial Court (architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott) was also built to commemorate those who died in the First World War.

The First World War poet and writer Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967) was a Clare College alumnus spending one year at the college from 1905-6. His semi-autobiographical Memoirs of a Fox Hunting Man (1928), Memoirs of an Infantry Officer (1930) and Sherston’s Progress (1936) graphically record his experiences in the trenches of the Western Front. Sassoon was made an Honorary Fellow of Clare College in1953.  

Pembroke College – the memorial, close to the entrance to the chapel on the west side of the Hitcham cloister, features 308 former members of the college community who were awarded thirty-four Military Crosses, four Croix de Guerre, six Distinguished Service Orders, and three Victoria Crosses. A full list of those who died including their military career and where they are buried is available via the ‘Lest we Forget’ section of the Pembroke College website www.pem.cam.ac.uk.

Autumn Colours Tour at Fairhaven Garden – Sunday, November 16 - Norfolk Broads

Enjoy the spectacular autumn colours at Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden, South Walsham, Norfolk Broads, with its mature oak and beech trees, on this guided walk with Head Gardener Ian Guest on Sunday, November 16 at 11am. Included in the walk is the ancient King Oak, which was a sapling at the time of the Battle of Hastings.

Garden entry is £6.10 adult, £5.60 concessions, £3.60 child (under 5 free) and dogs 25p (to cover poop scoop) - no additional charge for the guided walk.

There is also a Christmas Fayre on November 16 from 11am to 3pm (free entry to the fayre) with locally made Christmas cakes, jewellery, decorations, woodcrafts and more.

Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden is at South Walsham, nine miles east of Norwich, signposted off A47 at B1140 junction, t. 01603 270449.

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.

Take Part in Dickleburgh Church 11th Annual Christmas Tree Extravaganza - South Norfolk

The 11th annual South Norfolk Christmas Tree extravaganza, 50 Christmas Trees in a Church, is set to take place at All Saints Dickleburgh from Sunday, November 30 to Sunday, December 7.

Forty-three local organisations, businesses and children’s groups have already booked to take part in the event by entering decorated Christmas trees. Just seven more trees are needed to make the round 50.

The event has a competitive side, 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. For more information, and to enter a tree, contact Rowena Roskelly, t. 01379 676256. The deadline for tree entries is November 15.

South Norfolk MP Richard Bacon will officially open the Christmas Tree festival at 5pm on Saturday, November 29. The festival is then open daily 10am -7pm, except Sunday, December 7 when it closes at 4pm for the prize giving.

Entrance is free, but there is a charge for the programme and voting slip. The festival is raising money for two charities, Elizabeth's Legacy of Hope and Ormiston Families.

Programme and voting slip charge: adult £3.50, concessions £3, children free and pre-booked groups £2.75 per adult.

Event organiser Rev James Roskelly said: “We are really looking forward to a ‘full house’ of Christmas Trees and are sure that we will reach 50 or more. This year’s theme is ‘Signs and Wonders of Christmas’. Our event is an excellent way to begin the Christmas season and we look forward to welcoming visitors to the festival to enjoy the glorious trees, but also to take time for peaceful reflection.”

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

Dickleburgh village is to the north of Diss, just off the A140.

Halloween Fireworks on Great Yarmouth Seafront – Friday, October 31

Great Yarmouth Summer Fireworks

Greater Yarmouth Tourist Authority is staging its first ever Halloween fireworks display on the evening of Friday, October 31.

This free event, which has been sponsored by Grosvenor Casino, will begin at 5pm in Sea Life Centre Gardens with entertainment from the East Coast Truckers Roadshow. The evening will culminate with a spectacular fireworks display, lighting up the seafront at 8pm.

Trevor Saunders, Events and Entertainments Manager, Grosvenor Casino said. “Grosvenor Casino on Marine Parade is proud to support Yarmouth Seafront by sponsoring the Halloween Fireworks Spectacular. Come and join us in our garden at Grosvenor Casino for a monster view of the fireworks!”

For more information contact Great Yarmouth Tourist Information Centre t. 01493 846346, www.great-yarmouth.co.uk.

Fairhaven Garden - October Half Term Activities - Norfolk Broads

It’s Grow Your Own Oak Tree Week at Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden, South Walsham, Norfolk Broads from Thursday 23 October to Sunday 2 November, daily 10am to 5pm. Head into the garden and forage for your own acorn, then take it away in a recycled pot filled with Fairhaven leaf soil.

On Saturday 25 October, there are two Fungi Forays from 10.30am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 4pm. Find out how to identify death caps from deceivers with fungi expert Dr Tony Leech on a foray in the woodland garden. Foray tickets are £6.10 adult, £5.60 concessions and £3.60 child. Booking is essential, sorry no dogs allowed.  Additional offer to foragers: mushroom soup, roll and a pudding for only £5 per person.

Then on, Tuesday 28 October it’s Bird Day with the RSPB, from 11am to 3pm. Prepare your garden for birds this winter by making bird feeders and bird boxes (small charge for bird box).

Normal entry charges apply for Grow Your Own Oak Tree Week and RSPB Bird Day: adult £6.10, senior citizen £5.60 and child £3.60 (under five free).

Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden is at South Walsham, nine miles east of Norwich, signposted off A47 at B1140 junction, tel. 01603 270449, www.fairhavengarden.co.uk.

The garden is open daily all year, 10am to 5pm  (10am to 4pm during the winter and 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.

Great Yarmouth Graveyard Walk – Heritage Walks Autumn Holiday Special – October 31

Great Yarmouth Minster

Great Yarmouth Minster and its graveyard are the setting for The Graveyard Walk at 2pm on Friday, October 31. Meet at the Fishermen’s Hospital gates at the northern end of the market to hear stories about the characters laid to rest in this large consecrated area next to the medieval town wall.

Places must be booked in advance on 01493 846346 or at Great Yarmouth Tourist Information Centre, Marine Parade. Prices: £6.50 adults, £4 children (7-16), under 7s free, 10 paying people minimum required for the walk to go ahead. Price includes refreshments at Great Yarmouth Minster.  Walk lasts approx. two hours.

Visit the town cemetery where sailors and merchants lie side by side next to six listed memorials. See the tomb of a sailor killed by pirates and hear a ghost story about an Egyptian princess.

Find out about James Sharman (d.1867), the first curator of the Nelson Monument. Charles Dickens based the character Peggoty in David Copperfield on Mr Sharman, who served on HMS Victory at Trafalgar as a ‘pressed man’ and claimed to have carried Nelson’s body below decks.

View the monument commemorating those who died in the suspension bridge disaster of 1845 and discover the bricked up gate where some of Nelson’s sailors took their final journey.

For more information about Great Yarmouth’s Heritage Walks see www.heritage-walks.co.uk.

Fairhaven Garden’s Halloween Haunted Trail - Norfolk Broads

Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden at South Walsham, Norfolk Broads, invites you to the spookiest Halloween party around – the 15th annual Fairhaven Halloween Haunted Trail, on Friday, October 31, from 6pm to 8pm.

Enter the creepy woodland trail where lost souls roam and skeletons juggle with fire and experience the strange world of The Time Traveller and live to tell the tale. Then delve down into the haunted hollow where the trees are alive with ‘things’ unseen and have tea with George & George, two Victorian gentlemen of the Acrobatic Society. There’s live music from El Gato’s Men, children's entertainers and lots more. Don't miss the firework finale at 7.45pm.

Tickets cost, adults £8, and children (age 3-16)  £4. Visitors can go round the trail as many times as they dare and should bring their own torch. Booking is essential, t. 01603 270449. Please note this event is not suitable for children under 3, pushchairs and dogs.

Hot soup, hot dogs and snacks will be on sale in the tearoom.

Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden is at South Walsham, nine miles east of Norwich, signposted off A47 at B1140 junction, www.fairhavengarden.co.uk.

The garden is open daily all year (closed Christmas Day) 10am to 5pm (closes 4pm in the winter), free entry to tearoom, gift shop and plant sales.

Memento Mori – Norfolk & Suffolk World War I Memorials’ Trails from Art Alive in Churches

East Anglian charity, Art Alive in Churches has published Memento Mori World War I Memorials in Norfolk and Suffolk. The trail leaflets focus on mainly rural memorials in 17 churches in Norfolk and 13 in Suffolk. Churches have been selected for the stories that the memorials tell.

The leaflets can be downloaded from Memento Mori in the projects section of www.artaliveinchurches.com. Leaflets can also be picked up at participating churches.

Ditchingham Church Norfolk, War Memorial - photograph Mike Dixon

Jennie Hawks, Director, Art Alive in Churches said: “Art Alive aims to increase understanding and appreciation of the wealth of heritage, arts and crafts in East Anglian churches.  With this year’s 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War, we decided to focus on the memorials to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the war.”

“The range of memorials is quite amazing. We have selected 17 in Norfolk, and 13 in Suffolk. I recommend exploring our trails as a way to begin to understand the impact of the war on local communities, as well as appreciating the care that went into creating these permanent memorials to the catastrophe of the Western Front, along with Gallipoli, the Middle East campaign and the war at sea.”
   
Norfolk churches featured are: St Clements Outwell, St Peter Upwell, St Mary Middleton, All Saints Narborough, St James the Great Castle Acre, St Andrew Great Ryburgh, St Mary Cranworth, St George Hardingham, St Peter & St Paul Forncett St Peter, St Mary Forncett St Mary, All Saints Tibenham, St Margaret Tivetshall St Margaret, All Saints Salhouse, St Andrew & St Peter Blofield, All Saints Hemblington, St Peter Lingwood and St Mary Ditchingham.

The churches are open daily with the exception of Tivetshall (open weekdays) and Upwell and Hardingham (locked with key holder living nearby).

Ufford Church Suffolk, Memorial Window - photograph: Mike Dixon

Suffolk churches featured are: St Andrew Tostock, St Nicholas Rattlesden, St Mary of Pity Burgate, St Mary the Virgin Bacton, St Andrew Cotton, St Mary Old Newton, St Mary Flixton, St Margaret of Antioch Linstead Parva, St Mary the Virgin Huntingfield, St Michael Peasenhall, St Peter Sibton, St Peter Theberton and St Mary of the Assumption Ufford.  

The churches are open every day.

Examples of Norfolk Memorials 

Ditchingham’s memorial, which was unveiled on September 27, 1920, is black marble and features a life-size bronze figure designed by Sir Francis Derwent Wood. William Carr of Ditchingham Hall, Sir Henry Rider Haggard, the author of King Solomon’s Mines and She and Dr J.F. Bright paid for the memorial, as well as relatives of those killed in the war.

The memorial features Staff Nurse Mary Rodwell who probably died when H. M. Hospital Ship Anglia was sunk by a mine in the English Channel on November 17, 1915. The majority of those commemorated died on the Somme, but a few were involved in the Middle East and Gallipoli campaigns. Source www.roll-of-honour.com.

Narborough was home to the First World War’s largest airfield in the UK. It covered some 900 acres. There are 15 graves in Narborough churchyard of Royal Flying Corps airmen who died in training at the base. There is a granite memorial at the entrance to the church and a handwritten Roll of Honour inside the church.

Salhouse: a new memorial book, A Century Has Not Aged Them, documenting the 19 men  featured on the memorial at All Saints is now on display. As well as information about those who died, the book features a description of the Salhouse that the men grew up in, along with maps to illustrate changes over the last 100 years, the history of the war memorial and photographs.

Tibenham war memorial is in the churchyard and was unveiled on 13 April 1920. Twenty-one names are recorded of those who died in the First World War. Before the war, Tibenham had six highly accomplished bell ringers who rang their last three-hour peal together on 13 May 1914. Three of the bell ringers, Clarence Gooch, George Snelling and Bertie Turner died during the war. Fredrick Manser died in 1919. Frederick Seager moved to Yorkshire in the 1920s, although he returned to Tibenham in 1930 and with John Snelling, the only original bell ringer to still live locally, helped ring the first peal since 1914.    

Examples of Suffolk Memorials 

Burgate – the memorial altar carved with the names of local men who died in the war includes furnishings made out of old shell cases.

Burgate Church Suffolk, Memorial Altar - photograph: Mike Dixon

Sibton – the names of the 11 men from Sibton who died in the war are carved on the  churchyard gate.

Theberton – the war memorial includes an additional plaque commemorating the gift of a German gun to the parish in recognition of the award of a VC to Theberton man Colonel Charles Doughty-Wylie of the Royal Welch Fusiliers for his bravery during the attack on Sedd-el-Bahr, Gallipoli on 26 April 1915. Colonel Doughty-Wylie was killed by a sniper, just as the attack achieved its objective.

There is also a separate plaque commemorating the 16 German airmen killed when Zeppelin L48 crashed just outside Theberton on 17 June 1917.

Ufford – the memorial window in the church was designed by Ninian Comper and installed in 1920. It shows Christ carrying his cross supported by a First World War soldier and sailor.

Norfolk County Council and Norfolk Community Foundation Commemorating WWI have helped fund the project.

Back the next generation of Fairhaven Garden trees - Norfolk Broads

Friends and supporters of Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden at South Walsham in the Norfolk Broads are being invited to back the next generation of the garden’s trees at two special planting days on Sunday, October 12 and Friday, October 24, both starting at 11am.

Molly Auld with her tree in February

John Debbage, one of the gardening team at Fairhaven, has established a nursery in the garden to propagate saplings. Oak, ash, alder and horse chestnuts have been grown from seed gathered in the garden, for planting in a copse at the end of the Ranworth Walk.

Louise Rout, Fairhaven Garden manager explained:  “We began working on the copse in February and this is our second set of planting days. We are asking our friends and supporters to donate £10 to the garden’s project fund in return for planting a tree.  Numbers of trees are limited, so please get in touch and reserve one. We will maintain a record of all donations, so that donors can keep an eye on their tree as it matures.”

To reserve a tree and make a donation, please call in at visitor reception, or  t. 01603 270449. Alternative tree planting days and times can be arranged.

Nineteen New City of Norwich Tourist Guides Take Their Bow

New City of Norwich Tourist Guides at City Hall, 16 September 2014

Nineteen new City of Norwich Tourist Guides received their official badges from the Lord Mayor, Councillor Judith Lubbock, at a ceremony at City Hall on Tuesday 16 September. The guides have been trained to know everything about Norwich’s unique characters from the fictional Alan Partridge to the mercantile Robert Toppes and the medieval Lady Julian.

Their journey to qualification was an interesting and challenging one. Prospective guides had to learn the city’s history from 1066 to the present day, incorporating intricate detail about Norwich’s churches and cathedrals, its museums, its architecture and its people to name but a few aspects of the course. Practical and written exams then had to be undertaken and passed to make it to the final honour of attaining their qualifying badges.

Leader of Norwich City Council and cabinet member for culture, Councillor Brenda Arthur, said: “Our tourist guides play an extremely important role in promoting our wonderful city and it’s great to welcome new faces to this fantastic group of people. I’m sure the new guides will play their part in warmly welcoming visitors and residents alike and providing them with lively and interesting tours and talks.”

Melanie Cook, senior PR and online marketing executive of VisitNorwich, said: “It's great news that Norwich has another enthusiastic group of guides to take visitors and residents around the city. We already work closely with the existing tourist guides who have a profound knowledge of local history. Last year they excelled themselves when a brand new tour was created - Alpha Norwich, a homage to Alan Partridge. It went down so well more tours were run this year."

“As a guide you will never be able to predict what is asked of you, a great guide needs to be able to think on their feet and expertly handle all sorts of questions, something I am sure our new guides will be able to do very well.”  

Tourist Guides can be booked for various walks and tours of Norwich via the Tourist Information Centre based at The Forum, see www.norwich.gov.uk/touristinformationcentre or call 01603 213999. Information on booking guides can also be found at www.visitnorwich.co.uk and on its free Discover Norwich app available on iOs and android, which can be downloaded from the website.

Raveningham Gardens End of Season Vegetable Day, Norfolk Broads

Raveningham Gardens in the Norfolk Broads is staging an End of Season Vegetable Day on Sunday 5 October, from 11am to 4pm, part of the Norfolk Food and Drink Festival.

The Bacon family will be leading tours of the 18th century walled kitchen garden at 12.30pm and 2.30pm. Discover Raveningham’s vegetable gardening secrets, hear about the history of the garden and buy garden produce. Entry is adults £4, concessions £3.50 and children under 16 free.

Raveningham Walled Garden Produce Stall

Some 35 different types of vegetable are grown in the walled garden throughout the year. Pride of place in the garden goes to the 200-year old Queen Charlotte apple tree. There is also a working Victorian melon pit, along with a Herb Garden and Thyme Garden created by Susan Bacon. Grapes, peaches, figs and plants are grown in the glasshouses.

Raveningham Walled Garden - pears

Visitors will be welcome to explore the walled garden, Victorian glasshouses, arboretum and herb garden at their leisure and enjoy contemporary sculpture throughout the gardens, as well as walk round the lake created to mark the Millennium. Raveningham’s 14th century church will be open. Tea and cake will also be on sale.

The gardens (NR14 6NS) are 10 miles south east of Norwich, signposted off the A146 at Hales, then B1136, tel. 01508 548480, www.raveningham.com.

Raveningham Gardens, Norfolk Broads, Autumn Fruit and Vegetable Weeks

Raveningham Gardens near Hales, South Norfolk are open for two special Autumn Fruit and Vegetable Weeks from Monday, September 22 to Friday, September 26 and Monday, September 29 to Friday October 3, open 11am to 4pm, closed Saturday and Sunday. Entry is adult £4, concessions £3.50 and children under 16 free.

Queen Charlotte Apple Tree - 200 years old

Visitors can explore the walled garden, Victorian glasshouses, orchard, arboretum and herb and thyme garden and enjoy contemporary sculpture throughout the gardens, as well as walk round the lake created to mark the Millennium. Raveningham’s 14th century church will be open. Tea and cake will also be on sale.

Raveningham Church

Some 35 different types of vegetable are grown in the walled garden throughout the year. Grapes, peaches, figs and plants are grown in the glasshouses.

Raveningham Gardens (NR14 6NS) are 10 miles south east of Norwich, signposted off the A146 at Hales, then B1136, t. 01508 548480, www.raveningham.com.

Great Yarmouth Heritage Open Days 11 to 14 September - Norfolk

An exciting programme of free tours and drop in events is on offer in the Borough of Great Yarmouth during Heritage Open Days weekend, Thursday 11 to Sunday 14 September.

Book a tour back to World War II at ‘Blitz Street’ Scratby, or a guided walk discovering the Medieval Town Wall. Go on a tour featuring the story of the Gorleston Dolphins and get behind the scenes in Great Yarmouth Library.

Great Yarmouth Medieval Town Wall

Explore the Masonic Royal Assembly Rooms, visit the Fishermen’s Hospital and see the chapel and former ward in the Royal Naval Hospital. Visit All Saints Church Horsey, which dates back to Saxon times and Hopton Ruined Church.

Walk from Reedham to Polkey’s Mill and Reedham Marsh Steam House, or visit Morse’s Wind Engine Park at Repps with Bastwick, the only collection of historic wind pumps in the UK.

Take a tour of Great Yarmouth Minster, The Norfolk Pillar (Nelson’s Monument). Visit the Elizabethan House Museum and Tolhouse Museum and enjoy East Anglian Practical Classic Club’s classic car display.

Great Yarmouth - The Fisherman's Hospital

Cllr Michael Jeal, Cabinet Member for Tourism & Business, said: “The borough’s heritage is a topic which is extremely close to my heart. Heritage Open Days is an exciting way for us to showcase the fascinating heritage there is in Great Yarmouth, with amazing opportunities for people to get behind the scenes at many of the borough’s wonderful historical buildings.”

Pick up a Great Yarmouth Heritage Open Days leaflet at the Tourist Information Centre,
t. 01493 846346, or download a copy of the leaflet from
www.great-yarmouth.co.uk/heritageopendays.    

15th Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 September 2014

The 15th Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival returns to South Quay on Saturday 6 September (10am to 6pm) and Sunday 7 September (10am to 5pm) 2014 to celebrate the town’s proud maritime past and our maritime future with visiting ships, live music, street entertainment, arts, crafts and children’s activities. The festival is organised by Greater Yarmouth Tourist Authority in association with Seajacks UK Ltd.

Festival activities and entertainment on South Quay are free; a donation of £1 per visitor towards festival costs is welcomed.

The Minerva

Dutch tall ships the Minerva, which will also be offering sailing trips, and the Tres Hombres, the world’s only sailing cargo vessel operating without a back-up engine, will be in port. MTB102, the third last vessel to leave Dunkirk in 1940 will also be alongside, as well as steam drifter Lydia Eva, The Daybreak (1934 Humber Keel), Izambard (Dutch style barge) RASC Fast Launch Humber, RNLI Great Yarmouth & Gorleston’s Samarbeta liefboat, HMC Protector (customs cutter) and MV Confidante (Gardline coastal survey vessel).The Sowenna, a Cornish Pilot Gig and the Edward Birkbeck, the former Winterton-on-Sea lifeboat will also be on display on the quay.

Nanne and Ankie

Shanty and maritime music will be performed throughout the weekend at three different venues on South Quay. New visiting shanty groups and singers are Nanne and Ankie from The Netherlands, La Bouline from France and Jenkin’s Ear from Guernsey, along with Tom Lewis, who has returned to the UK after 30 years in Canada and Suffolk’s John Ward. Other performers at the festival are Sheringham Shantymen, Capstan Full Strength, The Mollyhawks and The Keelers from Tyneside. Wrentham Brass Band will also be there to start Sunday morning with a maritime programme.

Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival Mascots

Visitors will be able to go aboard the Minerva, the Tres Hombres and the Lydia Eva, and meet Admiral Nelson and Mrs Hamilton, along with Horatio Herring, Lofty the Lighthouse and Mrs H; enjoy military re-enactments from East Norfolk Militia, street theatre from Inner State, Punch and Judy shows with Professor Pulson and face painting and balloon modelling.

Find out about the Broads and local nature reserves and make a dragonfly, a butterfly feeder or a flying wristband with the RSPB, or have a go at making herring kites and shark’s tooth necklaces with Norfolk Wildlife Trust. Eastern Inshore Fisheries will have a tank full of local marine species to explore. Watch Ernie Childs paint a maritime masterpiece before your eyes, see lace making, spinning and gansey knitting and maritime wood carving, also have a go at making a fisherman’s net.

Enjoy the ‘Feast of Fish’, cookery demonstrations from top Norfolk chefs including at 2pm on Sunday 7 September, ‘Ready, Steady Cook’, a competition between Daniel Smith and Mark Dixon hosted by David Clayton from BBC Radio Norfolk.

Visitors in wheelchair are advised to use the accessible entrances at Middle Gate (to the right of Nottingham Way) and the South Gate at the far end of the festival. There is a 96m long cobbled area towards the North Gate which some wheelchair users may find challenging to navigate.

Minerva Sailings: There will be five passenger sailing trips between Thursday 4 and Sunday 7 September. Tickets can be purchased at Great Yarmouth Tourist Information Centre t. 01493 332200, or the e-shop at www.maritime-festival.co.uk. Thursday 4 September 1pm, ticket £33, Thursday 4 September 6pm, ticket £33, Friday 5 September 6pm, ticket £36, Saturday 6 September 6.30pm, ticket £39, Sunday 7 September 7pm, ticket £39, Sailing duration depends on the tide, but will last from 2½ to 3½ hours.

Aileen Mobbs, Festival Chairman and GYTA Honorary President said: “We are looking forward to a weekend of maritime celebration, with our tall ships, a busy international shanty singing programme and lots demonstrations, hands-on activities and entertainment. We are enormously grateful to our festival sponsors who enable us to put on such a fantastic event every year.”

The Maritime Festival sponsors are Seajacks UK Ltd, 3Sun Group, Bateman Groundworks, BDO LLP, Birketts LLP, Bunn Fertiliser Ltd, ELM Contracts, e.on Climate & Renwables, Gardline, MDF Transport, Perenco, Persimmon Homes Anglia, Petrofac and Wellington Construction. The festival is also supported by EastPort UK and Great Yarmouth Borough Council.

The GYTA (Greater Yarmouth Tourist Authority) is a unique public / private sector partnership, founded in 1994. It brings together all partners from both the public and private sector to ensure that together we can collectively provide a better resort to help businesses survive and flourish and ensure that jobs are created and sustained.

Tunstead Church Norfolk - Orchestra of St Paul’s Covent Garden Concert 13 September

The 26-strong Orchestra of St Paul's Covent Garden (OSP), led by Ben Palmer, with three young Norfolk soloists, will be the first professional and largest orchestra to play at the 14th century St Mary's Church Tunstead, when it performs a concert there on Saturday 13 September starting at 7pm.

Victoria Bonham

Victoria Bonham (21) from Gorleston will give the first ever performance of Piano Concerto by Norfolk composer James Kenelm Clarke (73). James Clarke heard Victoria play at a concert last year and wrote the piece with her in mind. It is his first piano concerto.

Victoria is currently in her second year of the Guildhall Artist Masters Programme at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She is a graduate of the Birmingham Conservatoire; for two seasons, beginning in September 2010, Victoria was the pianist and celeste player for the City of Birmingham Symphony Youth Orchestra.

Matt Dunnett (20) from Norwich will perform new work by James Clarke, singing five semi-autobiographical songs: So Long Ago (The Marram Grass), Country Boy in the Corridors of Power, Jazz and Cocktails, The Sun’s Coming Up and I Light a Candle.
This is Matt’s first public solo recital.

He is a former choral scholar at Norwich Cathedral, and is currently studying English literature and Spanish at the University of Manchester. Highlights of his extensive choral experience include singing in the chorus for Beethoven 9 with the National Youth Choir of Great Britain under Daniel Barenboim, Vaughan William's Sea Symphony with the Halle at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, and most recently Mahler 8 in Royal Festival Hall under Essa Pekka Salonen.

Freddie Gavita

Freddie Gavita (27), who is originally from Norwich, will play flugelhorn on Mr Clarke’s new songs. A professional jazz musician, Freddie used to play with Norwich Students’ Jazz Orchestra and The Jonathan Wyatt Big Band. He is now based in London and has been a regular on the British big-band scene for the last eight years. He has his own quartet featuring Kit Downes, Calum Gourlay and James Maddren. Last October Freddie appeared in Downton Abbey as a jazz trumpeter, playing at a party hosted by the ‘Earl of Grantham’.

The rest of the programme is Britten, Simple Symphony, Elgar Serenade for Strings and Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis.

Ticket are £10 on the door. To book in advance t. 01692 538041, or online at www.orchestraofstpauls.org/tunstead. The concert is promoted by The Davenport Trust and Norfolk Music Publishing Ltd and is in aid of Tunstead Church.

Tunstead Church

James Kenelm Clarke said: “We are going to have a wonderful evening at Tunstead and look forward to a full church! Victoria, Matthew and Freddie are brilliant young musicians. It will be real treat to hear them perform with Ben Palmer’s marvellous Orchestra of St Paul’s Covent Garden. Tunstead Church is a wonderful setting for live music and it’s without doubt the first time that a professional orchestra will play within it’s 14th century walls.”

"I'm really excited about bringing the orchestra to Tunstead," said OSP Artistic Director Ben Palmer. "We last performed in Norfolk in 2010, at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, so it's wonderful to be coming back, and especially to give a concert in the beautiful setting of Tunstead church. We're very much looking forward to working with three outstanding local soloists, and to giving the first performances of these two wonderful, jazz-inspired pieces by James Kenelm Clarke."

The Davenport Trust takes its name from Shaun Davenport, a 17 year-old student at Hewett School, Norwich, who faced a bright future, yet took his own life in January 2003. The Trust aims to support and encourage young people in Norfolk, in the early stages of careers in the arts and the media.

James Kenelm Clarke - by the age of 19, James Clarke was writing TV production music and also wrote the signature tune for Associated-Rediffusion’s current-affairs programme This Week. But he wanted to be a TV director, so with the help of Sir John Woolf, went to Anglia TV as a researcher from 1960-67.

He then moved to the BBC and worked for Desmond Wilcox on Man Alive, Braden’s Week and That’s Life. Desmond Wilcox made him a producer and he directed Esther Rantzen, Joan Bakewell, John Pitman, Dennis Tuohy and Desmond Wilcox himself. James still composed music, writing the signature tune for Braden’s Week and That’s Life.

He took a sabbatical from the BBC in 1974 to make his first feature. James put all his money into a film called Got it Made, which was set in Norfolk, starring Lala Ward and Fabia Drake, but couldn’t get it distributed.

Then in 1976 he left the BBC and founded Norfolk International Pictures. He made eight films, including three starring Fiona Richmond and backed by Paul Raymond, most notably Exposé (The House on Straw Hill), which has achieved cult horror film status.  He also directed Robert Powell in The 39 Steps. His last film (1985) was Going Under Cover with Chris Lemon and Lea Thompson.

In the late 1980s James moved to Los Angeles and wrote scripts, before returning to Norfolk in 1995 and his first ‘love’, composing music. He established Norfolk Music Publishing and has written a great deal of ‘library’ music, but has moved onto longer works like his new opera Jessie and Piano Concerto. His next project is a cello concerto for Morwenna Del Mar.

The Orchestra of St Paul's Covent Garden is one of London's most dynamic and versatile chamber orchestras; under the baton of artistic director Ben Palmer, OSP has developed a reputation for imaginative programming and exciting, stylish performances. Resident at the famous Actors' Church in Covent Garden, the orchestra appears regularly at the Southbank Centre and St John's, Smith Square, and performs at prestigious venues and festivals throughout the UK, and internationally.

In addition to his work with OSP, Ben Palmer is in demand as a guest conductor with orchestras throughout the UK. In June 2014 he made his debut with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, at the Hampton Court Palace Festival; other orchestras he has conducted include the London Mozart Players, the Halle, Britten Sinfonia and Birmingham Contemporary Music Group. He is regularly invited to work as rehearsal conductor with the Royal College of Music Symphony Orchestra, preparing Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique for Sir Roger Norrington and, in May and June this year, Mahler's Seventh Symphony for Bernard Haitink.