Check out Peter Sargent's new East Anglian history book, A Place in History: 50 More East Anglian Moments in time.

"Shining a light on our region's rich history," Let's Talk magazine

"A Place in  History...takes us on a glorious stroll through the life and times of not just Norwich and Norfolk, but the rest of East Anglia." Eastern Daily Press

Read one of Peter's stories here, the Duel in Ber Street Norwich (1600)

Peter Sargent

A Place in History, price £12, is on sale at Jarrold Norwich, Jarrold at The Forum Norwich, Waterstones Norwich, King's Lynn and Bury St Edmunds, The Book Hive Norwich, Revelation Christian Bookshop Norwich, Jarrold Cromer, The Holt Bookshop, Ceres Bookshop Swaffham, George E Reeve Wymondham, Ketts Books Wymondham, The Diss Publishing Bookshop, Burrows Bookshop Ely, Browsers Bookshop Woodbridge, Allthingsnorfolk and Amazon.

New Aural Care Service from Norfolk Deaf Association

Norfolk Deaf Association (NDA) is offering a new Aural Care Service at its Meridian Business Park head office in Norwich.

The Aural Care clinics provide an earwax removal service, using microsuction, and are run by highly qualified registered staff nurses, who are trained and experienced in aural care procedures.

Linda Shelton carrying out a microsuction procedure

Aliona Derrett, Chief Executive Officer, NDA explained: “We are very pleased that we are able to offer this new service to the people of Norfolk, so soon after our June move into a new head office. Funding for the equipment came from a number of grant making trusts.”

“The Aural Care Service is responding to identified need in the county; we have written to all GP practices, encouraging them to refer patients. However, no formal referral is required and patients can make an appointment direct with NDA. We would very much like to offer ear wax removal as a free service, but as a charity we need to cover our costs, so currently the charge is £30.”

“I would like to thank Linda Shelton, our Aural Care Practitioner, who has helped us set up a very professional service. Our ambition is to eventually extend our clinics to other premises within the Norfolk community.”

The microsuction technique removes excessive or troublesome earwax. It is generally accepted to be the safest and most effective method, and is performed with the aid of an operating microscope and a finely calibrated suction device. The procedure is syringe free.

The removal of earwax is essential for people who use hearing aids and experience excess wax, as well as many individuals who suffer from hearing reduction due to significant earwax build up in the ear canal.

NDA currently supports more than 11,500 patients in Norfolk who use hearing aids. The charity deals with many cases where individuals stop using their hearing aid altogether, because they believe that their aid is ineffective or ‘broken’, when in fact their ear, hearing aid mould and tubes are blocked with wax.

Comments from patients:

“The procedure was fine, carried our very professionally with great care and consideration.”

“I have no hesitation in recommending the treatment to anyone. My hearing does seem so much better now. A first class, great value, service.”

“Microsuction is much cleaner, not as messy as the syringe. It was a very straightforward procedure and my hearing has improved.”

“I found the experience friendly, very professional, and good value for money, thank you.”

To make an appointment please email appointments@norfolkdeaf.org.uk or t. 01603 404440, fax 01603 404443. The Aural Care clinics are held at NDA, 14 Meridian Way, Meridian Business Park, Norwich NR7 0TA. Free parking is available for patients.

For more information about NDA and its services see www.norfolkdeaf.org.uk.

On The Edge 'book surgeries' at Brundall Medical Centre, Norfolk

Tony Ashman with one of his book 'patients', Heather

Retired Norfolk GP, Tony Ashman is donating proceeds from the sale of his debut mystery novel, On The Edge, to his former medical practice, Brundall Medical Centre, for the purchase of much needed equipment.

Tony is holding a series of 'book surgeries' at Brundall Medical Centre between now and Christmas. People can book direct with Tony to meet him and buy a signed copy of the book, every Thursday and Monday from November 15 to December 20.

To book an appointment at one of Tony's book surgeries, please email tony.ashman@rocketmail.com. For more information click on 'News' at www.brundallmedicalcentre.nhs.uk.

On The Edge, price £9.00, is set in the Lake District and Scotland and features five main characters whose lives are all 'on the edge'. Psychologist Alice is struggling to keep herself together after the year from hell. Circus performer Bonny is already falling apart. Private investigator Sammy is drinking himself to death. Guitarist Angus is nearing the end of the road and prisoner Harry is already there.

Tony Ashman explained: “I’ve decided that all personal proceeds from sales of the book will be donated to NHS-related causes, initially Brundall Medical Centre. I've been delighted with the response to the first week of 'book surgeries' at Brundall, selling more than 70 books and am looking forward to the run up to Christmas.”

On The Edge is also on sale at Jarrold Norwich, Jarrold Cromer, allthingsnorfolk.com and Amazon and is available as an e-book.

On The Edge  is published by Paul Dickson Books, www.pauldicksonbooks.co.uk.

Norfolk Black History Month – Mary Seacole Portrait Unveiled at City Hall Norwich

Glenda Forde with Danny Keen and his portrait of Mary Seacole

Glenda Forde, Chair of the Mary Seacole Memorial Association unveiled a portrait of Mary Seacole at City Hall Norwich on Monday, October 1. The portrait by Jamaican artist, Danny Keen, will be on display at City Hall until Wednesday, October 31, marking Norfolk Black HistoryMonth.

Mary Seacole, the 19^th century Jamaican nurse, entrepreneur, adventuress, and writer is remembered for her work caring for sick British soldiers during the Crimean War. She has strong Norfolk connections through her husband Horatio Hamilton Seacole. Officially he was the godson of Horatio Nelson and Emma Hamilton, but it is believed that he may have been their natural child.

Danny Keen's portrait of Mary Seacole was commissioned by the Mary Seacole Memorial Association. Glenda Forde, the association's Chair said: “I would like to thank Danny Keen for his wonderful portrait of Mary Seacole, which celebrates a unique connection between the UK, Norfolk and Jamaica.”

Danny Keen's portrait of Mary Seacole

Danny Keen added: “It has been a great pleasure to paint Mary Seacole's portrait. She is an inspirational figure, with this close connection with Norfolk through Horatio Nelson. Jamaica, to my knowledge, is the only place where you can visit one of Nelson's homes, which today is cared for by the Jamaican National Trust.

Norfolk Black History Month runs throughout October with a busy programme of art, music, film, talks and history events celebrating 70 years of the Windrush generation, and also marking the centenaries of the end of World War I and the Representation of the People Act, which gave women the right to vote. For the full programme of events see www.norfolkblackhistorymonth.org.

Norfolk Black History Month – October – Celebrating 70 Years of the Windrush Generation

Norfolk Black History Month Launch, City Hall, Norwich, Frifday 28 September, left to right Abraham Eshetu, Norfolk Black History Month Committee, Councillor Martin Schmierer Lord Mayor of Norwich, Danny Keen Chair Norfolk Black History Month and guest speaker Lord John Bird, founder of the Big Issue 

Norfolk Black History Month returns throughout October with a busy programme of art, music, film, talks and history events celebrating 70 years of the Windrush generation, and also marking the centenaries of the end of World War I and the Representation of the People Act, which gave women the right to vote. For the full programme of events see www.norfolkblackhistorymonth.org.

Danny Keen, Norfolk Black History Month Chair explained: ““Our theme this year is Celebrating 70 years of the Windrush Generation. Coincidentally, it turned out to be the year that a British Prime Minister had to apologise for the dreadful mistreatment of black British citizens by successive governments.”

“I am Jamaican, from the same cohort who have been cruelly victimised. Fortunately for me in the early 1970s, I became aware of the Government's announcement that Caribbean people living in the UK needed to become naturalised, as we were joining the Common Market.”

“Despite the injustice meted out to Caribbean immigrants, we won’t let the Government spoil the party! We are going to dance to Salsa and, groove to Jamaican Jazz during Norfolk Black History Month. There’s lots to celebrate! We invite everyone to enjoy and explore the joyous impact of black culture on British society.”

“This year we have two major historical landmarks,” added Danny Keen. “The centenaries of the end of World War I, and the centenary of women being able to vote. In World War I many black people volunteered to fight for King and Empire. As a Norfolk resident, I am proud that two sons of Thetford, both of whom had grandmothers who were African slaves, served with outstanding gallantry. Major Prince Frederick Duleep Singh, and Captain Noel Glaysier Minns MC, DSO, MD served during World War I when the military rule book banned black or coloured people from becoming officers.”

“During World War I Princess Sofia Duleep Singh opened a hospital and tended to wounded soldiers herself, she was also a prominent suffragette, and went to India to promote the rights of her people.”

Norfolk Black History Month Highlights

Monday, October 1, 10am at Norwich City Hall: unveiling of Jamaican artist Danny Keen's portrait of Mary Seacole by Glenda Forde, Chair of The Mary Seacole Memorial Association. The portrait will be on display at City Hall throughout October. Mary Seacole, the 19^th century Jamaican nurse had strong connections to Norfolk. Her husband, Horatio Hamilton Seacole was a member of the Suckling family. Horatio Nelson's mother was Catherine Suckling.

October 1 to 31, Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm, Ancient House Museum, Thetford: Discover the stories of Thetford's black World War I heroes Major Prince Frederick Duleep Singh and Captain Noel Glaysier Minns and the work of Suffragette Princess Sofia Duleep Singh.

October 9 to 31, Norwich Millennium Library (ground floor): Windrush and the American Civil Rights Movement – Danny Keen art exhibition. A selection of work that Danny Keen created in the 1960s in response to the American Civil Rights Movement.

October 10, Stage 2, Theatre Royal, Norwich, 7.30pm: Britain on Film, Black Britain, featuring film from 1901 to 1985. Free event, but tickets must be booked in advance.

October 14, The Hub Cafe Bar, Sheringham Little Theatre, 7.30pm to 10pm, ticket £10: Jazz & The Windrush – a salute to the music of the 1940s with Vic Brown & The Band

October 16, Norwich Millennium Library, 7pm to 9pm: Caribbean Voices: celebrating a century of Caribbean women's writing, hosted by Dr Claire Hynes, UEA.

October 18, Revolution De Cuba, Norwich, 9pm to 1am: Jose Ferrera & his Cubanda , Salsa Extravaganza.

October 24, Sheringham Library, 11am to 12noon and Cromer Library 2pm to 3pm: African Drumming with Millicent Chapanda. Workshop costs £3 per person. Book via Sheringham Library, t 01263 822874.

October 25, Horsford Cricket Club, 7pm, ticket £5: An evening with former England cricketer, Devon Malcolm with Jamaican buffet dinner. Please book in advance, email rob.kelly@live.co.uk .

October 28, Norwich War Memorial, 11am: Commemorating the black volunteers of World War I.

October 28, The Cafe Bar, St George's Theatre , Great Yarmouth, 1pm to 3pm, ticket £6: Jazz & The Windrush – a salute to the music of the 1940s with Vic Brown & The Band.

November 3, St Miles Church, Coslany, Norwich, 5pm to 9pm: Pablo Fanque Norfolk's Black Legend, celebrating 250 years of the circus, an evening of entertainment for all the family. T 01603 568364 for tickets.

For more information see www.norfolkblackhistorymonth.org .

A Place in History – new East Anglian History Book by Peter Sargent

Peter Sargent at the Jarrolds Norwich launch 

APlace in History: 50 more East Anglian moments in time by PeterSargent was launched at Jarrold book department in Norwich on Wednesday, September 26. Published by Paul Dickson Books, A Place in History is on sale at £12 and is a sequel to Peter Sargent's AMoment in Time: 50 stories that bring East Anglian History to life, published in 2017.

Join author Peter Sargent on a 2,000-year journey through East Anglia's colourful and varied history. In this series of 50 short stories, meet kings and queens such as Edward I and Katharine of Aragon, figures of legend such as Fenland giant Tom Hickathrift, medieval saints and more than a few sinners.

There are witches and clergymen, soldiers and sailors, revolutionaries and working class heroes, entrepreneurs, raffish hell-raising boxers and dedicated philanthropists Discover the stories of Cardinal Wolsey's origins as a humble butcher's boy in Ipswich, the duel on Norwich's Ber Street in 1600, the founding of the Norwich Revolution Society at the Maids Head Hotel in 1791, the 19^th century Norfolk cricketing hero Fuller Pilch and much more.

Peter Sargent explains: "So many people have their place in history. For some it is a large and well-known slot, familiar to millions of people in the present day. Others have a far more humble location, and are not so well-known. They all find their place in this book."

Peter Sargent’s interest in history was sparked when he studied the subject at the University of East Anglia during the 1980s. After working in March, Peterborough and Cambridge, via spells in Malta and Hong Kong, he returned to Norfolk to work as a journalist on newspapers and magazines.

From 2004-11 he wrote weekly articles on local history, which appeared in the Eastern Daily Press and was production editor on Let’s Talk magazine for six years, before becoming a full time writer in 2016.

A Place in History

A Place in History is available at Jarrold Norwich, Jarrold Cromer, City Bookshop Norwich, Waterstones Norwich and Bury St Edmunds, Revelation Bookshop Norwich, Beccles Bookshop,The Holt Bookshop, Ceres Bookshop Swaffham, George Reeve Wymondham, the Maids Head Hotel Norwich, the Adam and Eve Norwich, Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden South Walsham, Amazon and www.allthingsnorfolk.com.

For more information about Paul Dickson Books see www.pauldicksonbooks.co.uk

Fairhaven Garden in Best 100 Gardens in the UK 2018

Fairhaven Garden's gardening team

Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden at South Walsham in the Norfolk Broads is in Garden News magazine's Best 100 Gardens in the UK 2018. The best 100 were voted for by Garden News magazine's readers.

Norwich African & Caribbean Market 28 and 29 September 2018

Paul Dickson and Illuminee Nganemariya will have a stall at the African & Caribbean Market at The Forum Norwich on 28 and 29 September. They will be selling copies of Miracle in Kigali and Rwandan cards and baskets.

Fairhaven Garden Ninth Annual Dog Day - 9 September 2018

Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden at South Walsham in the Norfolk Broads, is staging its ninth annual Fun Dog Day on Sunday, September 9, from 10.30am to 3pm.

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 mover, best biscuit catcher, cutest face, best crossbreed, prettiest bitch, handsomest male and best family (two or more dogs). It costs £1.50 to enter each category; proceeds go to Dog Lost Norfolk and Suffolk. There is no need to enter in advance, just bring your dog along on the day and join in the fun.

Other activities include the K9 Capers display team and ‘have a go’ agility, along with doggy stalls.

Entry to the Dog Day is £2 adults, £1 children and dogs free (does not include entrance to the garden). 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-3yrs)

11:20am Prettiest Bitch (4+ yrs)

11:40am Handsomest Male (puppy-3yrs)

12noon Handsomest Male (4+ yrs)

12:20pm Best Mover

1:20pm Best Crossbreed

1:40pm Best Family– two or more dogs

2pm Best Biscuit Catcher

2:20pm Cutest face

2:40pm Dog the judge would most like to take home

3:00pm Best in show

Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden is at South Walsham NR13 6DZ, 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 from 10am to 5pm (closed Christmas Day). Entry charge is £6.85 adult, £6.60 concessions, £3.95 child (under 5 free). Free entry to tearoom, gift shop and plant sales.

There is wheelchair access throughout the garden, including a Sensory Garden and an accessible boat for trips on the broad to the end of 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.

Head to Fairhaven Garden in the Norfolk Broads for The Great Bear Hunt

Families are invited to visit Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden, at South Walsham in the heart of the Norfolk Broads and go on The Great Bear Hunt.

Fairhaven volunteer Andy Usher has carved six bears out of wood from the garden and hidden them next to trees. Armed with a trail map, showing location clues, families can have fun hunting the bears, learn about the trees in the garden and make up names for the bears.

Andy Usher with one of his bears

Andy Usher explained: “I have volunteered in the garden for the last four years. I am chainsaw qualified, bought a carving saw and began experimenting with creating animals. This led to my idea to carve the bears out of Fairhaven wood and give families a fun summer activity. All the bears are next to well-known trees and the idea is for children to discover some of the species that make up the woodland garden, as well as enjoy hunting the bears.”

On The Great Bear Hunt

Andy is also carving children's picnic tables and chairs for the garden.

Louise Rout, Fairhaven Garden Manager said: “Thank you so much to Andy for developing such a creative family activity for our visitors this summer. It's a great way to get out and explore the garden.”

Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden is at South Walsham, signposted off the A47 at B1140 junction, half way between Norwich and Great Yarmouth. Garden entry is adult £6.85, concessions £6.60, children £3.95 and free for Fairhaven members and under 5s.

The garden is open daily all year from 10am to 5pm (closed Christmas Day), and on Wednesdays until 9pm to the end of August. Free entry to tearoom, provisions shop, gift shop and plant sales.

There is wheelchair access throughout the garden, including a Sensory Garden and an accessible boat for trips on the broad from 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.

T 01603 270449 or see www.fairhavengarden.co.uk.

Wymondham Music Festival Norfolk, Friday, June 22 to Sunday, July 1

Jazz Picnic with DixieMix

Wymondham Music Festival in South Norfolk returns for the 23^rd year from Friday, June 22 to Sunday, July 1. Favourites like Town Busking Day (June 23), the Jazz Picnic with DixieMix at Becketswell (June 25) and Teddy Bears' Picnic for the under fives (July 1) are back, along with a new free open-air event, Sounds of Summer at Becketswell on Saturday, June 30 from 12 noon to 6.30pm.

Wymondham Ukulele Group - Town Busking Day 2017

Sounds of Summer is being organised by Wymondham College student, Suzie Heylings, with support from Wymondham Town Team and a grant from the John Jarrold Trust. The line up features Victoria Louise, who was a finalist on The Voice 2017, along with alternative rock and indie pop band Red Wine Talk, plus singer songwriters Jordan Baker and Anna Carter, and Fingers Crossed, a five-piece rock band from Wymondham High School.

Victoria Louise - Sounds of Summer - photo Victoria Louise

Concerts at Wymondham Abbey include lyric soprano Jessica Robinson (June 27), Jazz at the Abbey (June 28), with Gilad Atzmon and The Orient House Ensemble and lunchtime recitals featuring Archie Bonham (piano), Norfolk Young Musician of the Year on June 25, Rob Goodrich (organ) and Katie Schutte (violin) on June 26, Julian Haggett (organ) on June 27 and Matthew Wadsworth (lute) on June 29.

Gilad Atzmon and The Orient House Ensemble

The Annual Music Lecture, Silent Films with Bruce Vogt is at The Regal (Wymondham Ex-Services Club) on June 24. Bruce Vogt will accompany silent films from Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton on the piano and will give a talk ‘Music and the Silent Clown'.

Other highlights are The Opera Dudes (June 22) and Bowjangles Comedy Orchestra (June 29), both promoted with Wymondham U3A, and Cavick String Quartet (July 1).

The Festival also stages three concerts for local young musicians, including the annual Young Musicians’ Concert at Wymondham Abbey on June 26. 

For the full Festival programme and to buy tickets for concerts see www.wymfest.org.uk. Concert tickets are also on sale at Puff's Toyshop in Wymondham Market Place.

Festival Chairman Richard Elliott said: "We have an exciting programme for this year's Festival, featuring regular favourites like the Town Busking Day and Jazz Picnic, along with our new event at Becketswell, Sounds of Summer, organised by Wymondham College student, Suzie Heylings. We also have three concerts featuring local young musicians including our annual Young Musicians' concert at Wymondham Abbey. I would like to thank our volunteers who make the Festival happen and our sponsors for their invaluable support."

Maids Head Hotel Norwich Head Chef in Semi-Final of National Chef of the Year Competition

Marcin ‘Magic’ Pomierny, Head Chef at the Maids Head Hotel in Norwich and Chef of the Year in the EDP Norfolk Food and Drink Awards 2016, has reached the semi-final of the Craft Guild of Chefs National Chef of the Year competition.  

Marcin 'Magic' Pomierny - photo Maids Head Hotel

Forty chefs, split into four semi-final heats, will be competing this month for a place in the final. The winner of each heat, plus the six best runners up, go through to the final which is at The Restaurant Show on Wednesday, October 2.

Magic’s semi-final heat is at Le Cordon Bleu in London on Tuesday, June 19.  The brief for the chefs is to create a menu, which focuses on the provenance of the food and gives a modern interpretation on classic dishes.    

Magic, who was a finalist in the 2008 Craft Guild of Chefs Young Chef of the Year competition said: “I am really excited to have reached the semi-final of the National Chef of the Year competition. The menu that I will be cooking on June 19 will feature English dishes using the best of East Anglian produce. I will do my very best to secure a place in the final for the Maids Head and Norwich.”  

Christine Malcolm, General Manager, Maids Head Hotel said: “Magic has worked very hard over the last five years to raise the profile of the hotel as a fine dining destination. We achieved a second AA Rosette in 2016 and Magic’s ambition is to raise the bar further and achieve a third AA Rosette. His summer a la carte menu has just been released this week, offering an excellent opportunity for hotel guests and local residents to sample Magic and his team’s current work.”

 “We wish Magic all the best for the National Chef of the Year competition,” added Christine Malcolm, “and will have our fingers firmly crossed.”    

Marcin ‘Magic’ Pomierny comes from near Krakow in Poland. He trained as a chef in Poland and studied catering for diabetics as an additional subject. Magic moved to Norwich in June 2005; his brother and sister were already in the city.

He spoke little English at the time and his family helped secure him a job as a kitchen porter at Tatlers, where he did washing up and food preparation for one year. Then Magic worked for Pulse and The Library for 18 months, followed by McIntoshes Kitchen for another 18 months. 

His next job in 2009 was Sous Chef at Rare Steak House and he moved on to The Mad Moose where he was Sous Chef for two years and Head Chef for one year. Magic arrived at the Maids Head Hotel as Sous Chef in May 2013 and was promoted to Head Chef in September 2013.

Fairhaven Garden's Ancient King Oak's Crown Gets a Trim - Norfolk Broads

King Oak Fairhaven Garden 

FairhavenWoodland and Water Garden's ancient King Oak, believed to have been a sapling at the time of the Battle of Hastings and one of the oldest trees in Norfolk, has been given a 'trim' to ensure it's long-term health.

Four years ago, the King Oak's crown was suffering from die-back and was reduced in size to help stabilise the tree. The path was also moved away from the garden's champion tree to give it more breathing space. Visitors' feet were compacting the roots and suffocating the tree.

Matt Jordan, Fairhaven Garden's Head Forester explained: “We give the King Oak an annual health-check, along with regular visual inspections, looking for broken limbs and aggressive fungi. The tree has survived so long, because it was actively pollarded for many centuries and also grew next to a good supply of water. More recently, it has also responded well to the footpath being moved away from it's root system.”

Fairhaven Garden - Matt Jordan at work on the King Oak

”We had planned to do some tree surgery last autumn, but a hornet's nest prevented the work. So it has been good to get back up the tree and carefully remove some of the reactive growth that has appeared following the reduction in the size of the crown four years ago. The tree is strong and healthy, but by thinning out the four year-old growth, it will allow more air and light into the crown and encourage new shoots and a successful growing season. We have also been thinning out branches that are rubbing against each other, so we can prevent fungal infections in the wounds.”

Visitors can still get close to the King Oak and its neighbour, another ancient pollard know as the Queen Oak, and marvel at the trees' longevity.

Fairhaven Woodland and Water Garden is at South Walsham NR13 6DZ, signposted off A47, half way between Norwich and Great Yarmouth at B1140 junction, t. 01603 270449.

The garden is open daily all 10am to 5pm . Garden entry is adults £6.85, concessions £6.60 and children £3.95 ( Fairhaven members and under 5 free). 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.

Ink in my Blood, my half century in newspapers by Neil Haverson - publishing 28 March 2018

Join Neil Haverson on his 50-year ride through the Norfolk and Suffolk newspaper industry. Neil has witnessed it all in the ever-changing regional media world – from flongs, hot metal and office cricket to full colour printing, digital editions and the web.

For much of his career, Neil worked in Eastern Counties Newspapers, latterly Archant’s commercial arm, but his talent as a humorous writer was discovered on the in-house Prospect magazine. This led to sporting columns and the famous ‘Fortress H’ dispatches in the Eastern Daily Press.

In this book Neil presents the ‘greatest hits’ from his Norwich Mercury, Eastern Daily Press and Let’s Talk magazine columns and his reflections on half a century of ink in his blood.

Neil Haverson

Neil Haverson worked in the Norfolk and Suffolk newspaper industry for more than 50 years. He began his career in the mid 1960s as an advertising clerk on the Lynn News & Advertiser, before moving to Norwich and Eastern Counties Newspapers (now Archant) at the dawn of the 1970s.

Neil continued in advertising, but by the end of the1980s, his skills as a writer were recognised thanks to humorous articles contributed to Prospect, ECN’s staff magazine. He was offered a sporting column in the Norwich Mercury and after three years graduated to a weekly column in the Eastern Daily Press. It soon was a regular fixture, as Neil’s wry look at family life, ‘Fortress H’, became a must-read.

In 2002 Neil made the full transfer from advertising to editorial, when he became chief writer for Let’s Talk, Archant’s new magazine for the mature reader. He was promoted to editor in 2009, a role he successfully fulfilled, until he retired at the end of 2016.

In retirement, he continues to contribute his monthly ‘Last Word’ column to Let’s Talk and a Saturday ‘Fortress H’ column, every fortnight in the Eastern Daily Press.

Neil lives at 'Fortress H' near Norwich with the 'long-suffering' Mrs H. Brats Major and Minor are no longer based at Neil's Norfolk stronghold.

Ink in my Blood

My half century in newspapers

Neil Haverson

Published by Paul Dickson, Wednesday 28 March 2018

Paperback A5, 160 pages, plus 8 pages of illustrations.

Price £11, ISBN 978-0-9956187-4-9