The Tres Hombres – World’s only Sailing Cargo Ship at Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival - 6 and 7 September 2014

The Tres Hombres

Dutch Brigantine, Tall Ship The Tres Hombres, the world’s only sailing cargo vessel, operating without a back-up engine, will be at Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival and open to visitors on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 September 2014.

The Tres Hombres will be berthed close to the other Dutch Tall Ship at the festival, the Minerva, which is running sailing trips from 4 to 7 September.

Dating back to 1943, The Tres Hombres was discovered in Delft in 2007 by the ‘tres hombres’, three friends Arjen van der Veen, Andreas Lackner and Jorne Langelaan, who restored the brigantine and founded the world’s first modern ‘emission free’ shipping company, Fairtransport.

The Tres Hombres began sailing in 2009 and operates across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and in European waters. Her next Atlantic voyage begins in October, when she will be sailing to Stavanger, Douarnenez (Brittany), Setubal, La Palma (Canary Islands), Belem (Brazil), Trinidad, Tobago, Grenada, Boca Chica (Dominican Republic), Horta (The Azores), Kinsale, Falmouth, Ostend. Cargo on the voyage will include wine, rum, chocolate, cocoa beans, cocoa butter, olive oil, stockfish (dried fish) and coffee.

 “Our focus is to transport special products which are organic, or crafted traditionally, such as olive oil, wine and rum, said Arjen van der Veen, Captain of The Tres Hombres. “And to raise awareness of the pollution created by the modern shipping industry and effect positive change in the way goods are shipped around the world.”

“We are looking to forward to our trip to Great Yarmouth and introducing Maritime Festival visitors to life on board a real sailing ship.”

The Tres Hombres is 32m long (28m on deck) with a 3m draught, gross tonnage 128 tons and a cargo capacity of 35m3. She is sailing by a professional crew of 5 and can take 10 additional passengers or trainees. For more information about The Tres Hombres see www.fairtransport.eu.

Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival is organised by Greater Yarmouth Tourist Authority 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.

Wymondham Music Festival Norfolk, Founders Retire – New Team to Plan for 2015

Brian Randall, Barbara Randall, John Wood, Derek Fripp and Hugh Morgan.

Barbara and Brian Randall, who launched Wymondham Music Festival with a series of concerts in 1996 and have nurtured the festival into its position as a much loved and respected element of the Norfolk market town’s cultural life, have retired after 18 years at the helm. 

Long serving former chairman, John Wood and treasurer, Derek Fripp have also retired from the festival committee. Derek’s successor as treasurer is Steph Homburg.

The festival began succession planning in 2012 and a new team of volunteers, led by Chairman Richard Elliott, is in place to run the 2015 festival and beyond.

The festival staged a special celebration evening at Central Hall on Friday, August 22, for friends and supporters, to mark the long service of Barbara and Brian Randall, John Wood, Derek Fripp and Hugh Morgan. Hugh has run the patrons’ scheme for many years and will be retiring at the end of March.     ​

Councillor David Goldson, Chairman South Norfolk Council, who attended the event said: "I thank you sincerely for all you have done for your community and wish your successors luck."   

Richard Elliott said: “The contributions of our retiring committee members are by any standard truly remarkable. In particular, the work of Barbara and John in planning and running the festival over so many years is extraordinary. I would like to thank Barbara, John, Brian, Derek and Hugh on behalf of everyone involved in the festival and the wider community, for developing such an exciting and inspiring annual musical extravaganza. They will be a hard act to follow, but we have some enthusiastic new volunteers on board who will deliver a quality event for Wymondham in 2015.” 

​“Brian Randall said: “We’re both leaving with very mixed feelings - we are sad to be bowing out of a fantastic adventure that has been so much a part of our lives. Looking back over 18 years, there have been many, many memories - urgent deadlines, much laughter, thousands of chairs moved, friendships kindled and, above all else, the music and the musicians who put the ‘Music’ into ‘Wymondham Music Festival’.  From the young musicians in their first ever performance to famous stars, it’s been a privilege to have been involved with them and their art.”

Wymondham Music Festival Facts

1996 first Music Week established by Barbara and Brian Randall

1997 first Jazz Picnic, Derek Fripp joins the team as treasurer

1998 Lunchtime recitals and Market Place events launched; Hugh Morgan launches the Patrons scheme.

2000 John Wood becomes Chairman; first Town Busking Day. 

2001 first Music Lecture

2008 Festival Fortnight established

2009 first Teddy Bears' Picnic

2014 John Wood retires as Chairman at February public meeting, Richard Elliott takes over as Chairman. Barbara and Brian Randall, John Wood and Derek Fripp retire in August.

Minutes of committee meetings from the last 18 years weigh 7.5kg. 

Over the last 11 festivals, there have been 85 ticketed concerts at Wymondham Abbey, Baptist Church, Central Hall, Fairland Church Centre, Kett's Park, Wymondham High School, Wymondham Ex-Servicemen's Club and Kimberley Hall featuring classical, jazz, blues, folk, pop, rock and world music. 

Fifth Annual Fairhaven Dog Day – Sunday 31 August - Norfolk Broads

Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden at South Walsham in the Norfolk Broads, is staging its fifth annual Dog Day on Sunday 31 August, from 10am to 3.30pm.

The event is a fun day for all dog lovers and a great opportunity for local residents to demonstrate pride in their dogs.

There is a dog show with 11 categories, including best puppy, waggiest tail, best rescue, best trick, prettiest bitch and handsomest male. It costs £1.50 to enter each category; proceeds go to Hallswood Animal Sanctuary. There is no need to enter in advance, just bring your dog along on the day and join in.

Other activities are K9 capers display team, ‘have a go’ dog agility, dog races and games, along with doggy stalls.

Entry to the Dog Day is £2 adults, £1 children and dogs free. The Dog Day is being staged next to the main car park. There is plenty of free parking.

Full list of dog show categories
11am prettiest bitch (puppy-5yrs)
11.20am         prettiest bitch (6+yrs)
11.40am         handsomest male (puppy-5yrs)
12noon         handsomest male (6+yrs)
12.20pm         best rescue
1.20pm         best trick
1.40pm         best senior
2pm         best puppy
2.20pm         waggiest tale
2.40pm         best crossbreed
3pm         best in show

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 £6.10, concessions £5.60 and child £3.60 (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.

Fairhaven Garden’s Thatched 19th Century Boathouse – Restoration Completed - Norfolk Broads

The £35,000 restoration of Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden's19th century boathouse, one of the last traditional thatched boathouses on the Broads, has been completed. Fairhaven Garden trustees and staff and individuals and organisations who have contributed to the public appeal to save the boathouse, gathered in the garden on Monday, August 18, to celebrate the project’s successful conclusion.

Fairhaven Garden Boathouse 18.8.14

Just over £30,000 has been raised for the boathouse project, with more donations welcome. Supporters include New Anglia LEP, Geoffrey Watling Charity, John Jarrold Trust, The Maids Head Hotel in Norwich and Fairhaven Primary School, who ran a special ‘funraising’ day. Individuals have also contributed to the appeal by sponsoring sheafs of local Ranworth reed, sedge, or hazel brotch pins for the roof and buying ‘boathouse cakes’ in the tearoom.

Louise Rout, garden manager with Lord Fairhaven, 18.8.14

Louise Rout, Manager, Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden said: “I would like to thank everyone who has supported our appeal to restore the boathouse and our contractors A & R Kelly who have done such a fantastic job. We have wanted to restore the boathouse for a number of years and have gradually been raising funds. It’s a dream come true today to see the restored building, which will last at least another 50 years before re-thatching is required.”

“Our key aim at Fairhaven is to preserve the garden for future generations, and it is wonderful that the boathouse’s future is now secure. We would very much like to hear from organisations and individuals who could help contribute further donations towards the project, or support our autumn tree planting campaign.”

Donations can be made online at www.totalgiving.co.uk/mypage/fairhaven or in person at Fairhaven Garden, School Road, South Walsham NR13 6DZ, t. 01603 270449, www.fairhavengarden.co.uk.

Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden is open daily 10am to 5pm (closed Christmas Day and closes 4pm in the winter), also open Wednesdays until 9pm from May to the end of August. Entry is adult £6.10, concessions £5.60 and child £3.60 (under 5 free).

Carved, Cast and Constructed at Wymondham Arts Centre, Norfolk

Norwich sculptor, Ros Newman returns to Wymondham Arts Centre to curate Carved, Cast and Constructed, an exhibition featuring sculpture from Norfolk and Suffolk artists. The show runs from Tuesday 19 August to Sunday 31 August, open Monday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm and Sunday, 12noon to 5pm.

Artists featured are Nigel Barnett, Pip Collyer, Chedgey, Chris Dixon, Andy Jarrett, Laure Olivier Minns, John Nicholson, Andy Reeve, Zoë Rubens and Monica Wesselman.

Ros Newman said: “I was delighted to be asked to curate a second sculpture show for Wymondham Arts Centre. It is always so interesting bringing together a varied group of artists with differing methods of working. I believe the fact that I personally like their individual work gives the exhibition an internal cohesion and I hope that everyone who visits the show will enjoy it as much as I have in putting it together."

Symphony in D Major by Andy Reeve

Andy Reeve’s mixed media installation, Symphony in D (Major) is a reflection on individual bravery and sacrifice in war, with music composed by Jess Diggins who plays the violin. Jay Freeman plays the guitar. The work tells the story of the final moments of a D. W. Boyd-Jones' and his last performance, in the heat of battle, witnessed by an unknown soldier.

Andy Reeve, who is based in Norwich, explained: “Symphony in D (Major) is a monument inspired by the final physical and philosophical moments of two men; D. W. Boyd-Jones and an unknown soldier. The guitar is intended to be heard as the pulse of the two men as they slowly succumb to death. The violin is intended to be heard as Boyd-Jones’ soul and as a last lament to his loved one who feels his death happening.”

“The guitar forming the physical sculpture was played, and destroyed, in an exclusive performance by The Neutrinos in Westlegate Tower during the Norfolk and Norwich Festival 2012. The music was inspired by Maxim Vengerov’s performance of The Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 47 by Jean Sibelius conducted by Daniel Barenboim for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.”

Facing Facebook by Zoe Rubens

In complete contrast to Andy Reeve’s installation, Suffolk artist Zoë Rubens is showing ‘Facing Facebook, a comment on....’ The 170cm sculpture, made from concrete, etched steel, brass and copper depicts etched ‘selfies’ of people.

Pip Collyer, who is also from Norwich, is showing two sculptures, Around and Straight and Divided Form 4, both in Caen limestone.

Around and Straight by Pip Collyer

Pip Collyer said: “The sculptures are inspired by stones that I find on Norfolk beaches and there is also a reference to the Dutch painter Piet Mondrian (1872-1944) in the lines cut into the stone. Caen limestone, from which Norwich Cathedral was built, is a lovely creamy stone with relatively few shells or other inclusions, which enables me to achieve an even finish which is hopefully very tactile.”

Professor Arthur Lucas, Director, Wymondham Arts Centre said: ”The ambience of Becket’s Chapel is especially suited to sculpture, and we invite a practising sculptor to curate a show each autumn. I was pleased that Ros Newman agreed to return for a second exhibition, following the success of Evocations in 2011. Her show will engage the imagination of the viewer and give an opportunity to compare excellent work in a variety of 3-Dimensional media.”

Unbroken by Ros Newman

Ros Newman specialises in creating small steel sculptures using oxy-acetylene welding. Her passion for the medium, coupled with her love of the human form, is undiminished nearly 40 years after being introduced to welding at Hammersmith College of Art, and continues to yield sculpture reflecting the variety of her personal view. Involvement in the first Bergh Apton Sculpture Trail (1997) broadened her work to outdoors and she has become well known for chickens, cockerels and flights of birds in stainless steel.

Wymondham Arts Centre is at Becket’s Chapel, Church Street, Wymondham, NR18 0PH, www.wymondhamarts.com.

Wymondham Arts Centre - Becket's Chapel  

Wymondham Arts Centre is a project run by Wymondham Arts Forum. Now in its sixth season, the Arts Forum runs a varied programme of exhibitions and events in Becket's Chapel, from late March to the end of November. William D’Albini, grandson of the founder of nearby Wymondham Abbey, founded Becket’s Chapel in 1174 as a chantry.

Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival, September 6 & 7, 2014 – International Shanty and Folk Singers

Nanne and Ankie from The Netherlands, La Bouline from France and Jenkin’s Ear from Guernsey, along with singer Tom Lewis, who has returned to the UK after 30 years in Canada and Suffolk’s John Ward, join the roster of live music acts for the first time at the 15th Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival on Saturday 6 September (10am to 6pm) and Sunday 7 September (10am to 5pm) .

Nanne and Ankie - Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival  September 6 & 7, 2014

Shanty and folk music is performed throughout the festival on three stages, as the town celebrates its proud maritime past and maritime future with visiting ships, notably the Tall Ship Minerva, which is running sailing trips and the Tall Ship Tres Hombres, street entertainment, arts, crafts and children’s activities. The event, organised by Greater Yarmouth Tourist Authority, takes place on South Quay; activities and entertainment are free (except for river and sailing trips). A donation of £1 per visitor towards Festival costs is welcomed.

The Shanty programme is managed by Great Yarmouth based Sue and John Griffiths who have been performing as shanty singers, The Mollyhawks, since the late 1990s.

Sue Griffiths said: “We have sung at every Maritime Festival and have organised the shanty singing programme since the second festival. We make sure that we have a mix of singers and musicians who are both good entertainers and experienced maritime and shanty singers. This year we have introduced more of an international flavour to the festival with singers from The Netherlands and France, as well others from the UK and local performers. There’s going some fantastic music at the three stages on South Quay throughout the festival weekend.”  

Suffolk based singer-songwriter John Ward will be joined by violinist Mario Price, with Lynne Ward on harmonies. They perform a mix of John’s original compositions and traditional songs, punctuated by Mario’s high-energy instrumentals.  John’s sixth album, ‘East of Sunrise’, released in 2011, features songs inspired by and from his home area, the Waveney, Yare and Blyth Valleys.

John Ward said: “Great Yarmouth and this eastern fringe of England has such a rich maritime history, which has inspired several of my songs and my writing generally. It’s great to be able to come and perform these, as well as some of the traditional songs of the area at this wonderful festival.”

Tom Lewis, Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival, September 6 & 7, 2014  

Tom Lewis was in the Royal Navy for 24 years serving in submarines, then lived in Canada for 30 years before returning to the UK. His songs cover a wide range of nautical topics, from life on board Royal Navy ships, through the loneliness and lure of the sea, to traditional shanties and classic nautical poetry, set to his own and others' melodies. Tom accompanies himself on button accordion and ukulele.

Tom Lewis said: "Thirty years in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia have kept me away from opportunities to be part of this festival. I'm thrilled that I'll be in Great Yarmouth so soon after my return. I'm really looking forward to this."

Nanne & Ankie from The Netherlands have been singing together since 1980 in Frisian, Dutch, Esperanto and English and have recorded more than 30 albums. They regularly tour throughout Europe, as well as North America and Australia. Nanne & Ankie sing traditional songs and new material. Maritime and historical themes feature, but they also sing about humorous events from daily life, accompanying themselves on guitar, mandolin and concertina.

French shanty singers La Bouline, who were formed in 1996 and are based in the Loire Valley, sing a mix of traditional and self-penned songs and have performed at Festivals throughout Europe and Canada.

Jenkin’s Ear has its roots with former Royal Navy servicemen, who formed the group in the 1990s. A mix of Guernseymen and singers from the mainland, they have performed at events in France, Germany, mainland UK and throughout the Channel Islands.

Also at the festival are regulars Inner State, The Keelers from Tyneside, named after Keels – boats that used to take coal down the Tyne and Wear to waiting ships, The Sheringham Shantymen and Capstan Full Strength. Wrentham Brass Band will also be there to start Sunday morning with a maritime programme.

For more information about Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival and to book a sailing trip on the Minerva go to www.maritime-festival.co.uk. Sailing tickets can also be purchased at Great Yarmouth Tourist Information Centre, t. 01493 332200.

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.