Summertime in Norfolk and further afield

Strange old summer we seem to be having.  The wall to wall sun of April is but a distant memory and the routine seems to be days of quiet where nothing much happens weatherwise. More like early October than late July.

The start of the month found us revisiting old haunts around Crickhowell - that most English of towns in Wales on the northern edge of the Brecon Beacons.  And so quiet. Lunch amongst the ruins at Llanthony with only 5 others in the pub!

We followed this with a trip over the Gospel Pass to the Bookshop Centre of the world - Hay on Wye.  Forty years ago, Hay felt like a fierce little border town. Now it's upmarket coffee, clothes  and of course - books.  We relieved them of a few - but why are English booksellers so grumpy? No smiling welcome or even interest. It surely can't be that miserable an existence.  Reassuringly the friendliest face was to be found in the pottery.  Fantastic food - rounded off with a return to The Walnut Tree at Llandewi Skirrid, good weather and loads of calm and relaxation.  All very seductive.

Slightly closer to home, our annual pilgrimage to Southwold was met with rain and a very unappealing sea more in keeping with winter than July.

Again very few people about - but that was not surprising!  The town stays much as it always was and still slightly puzzling, as the hinterland is hardly attractive.  We will of course return!

Monday found us wandering round Holt with friends.  It's not that long since I visited and its only 20 miles away but it seemed like quite a few things had changed or were in the process of so doing.  It seems odd to find shops closed for 'refurbishment' in the middle of the summer holidays, but then again maybe that is the time to do it.  I just hope they're finished by when the sun returns!

The curious case of The Squid at The Hoste and other tales

It really is very difficult to keep up to date with the comings and goings on the local food/drink front.  As soon as it seems safe to suggest somewhere, the wheels drop off. Or on the other hand having firmly fixed somewhere as a no-go area it emerges that all is well, and that it is serving the most fantastic food again.

However, there are some you can depend on and last week a return to two old favourites, The Hunny Bell and then The Hoste.  A visit from one of our favourite print makers MAX ANGUS, prompted a trip to Hunworth and it didn't disappoint. The beer is good, the staff friendly and the food as good as ever. Even better, there was live jazz in the shape of the very excellent Three in a Bar, of whom more will be heard later. 

The following evening found us slightly further afield - in Wimbledon. At home, actually. But not, if you see what I mean, as we were in The Fire Stables celebrating a friend's 25 years of continual working with one company.  This kind of thing must be getting increasingly rare in these days of constant change and mobility. Unsurprisingly, we have eaten and drunk there on previous occasions and again it came up to expectations. Always horrified by noise levels in London restaurants - it must be age - but was particularly impressed with the chap serving us who could be seen clearly checking his order against the number at the table (a lot) to make sure everyone was catered for, before heading for the pass.  Obvious - but often not done.  Food was very good and happily recommended - but maybe best left until after the end of the tennis.

Back in Norfolk a slightly alcoholic evening lead us from a small number of bottles in the gallery to a second visit to Burnham's recently re-opened second hostelry, The Nelson.  It's still early days and there have been reports of good lunch-time food, but this time we erred on the side of caution and went up west.  Delighted to find a table free in the bar at The Hoste, all the old favourites came up trumps... however an excursion by one of our number into squid territory proved interesting.  Not quite sure how it is described on the menu  - but apparently it was not what had been expected!  It looked absolutely fascinating and beautifully presented as ever, but call me cautious, I will be sticking with the Shredded Duck or my very good friend - the ever faithful Whittome Burger!

Birds, pots and a £5 note

Never actually made it to the Craft Fair at Bovey Tracey (that's in Devon for all you Anglians) until this year. Thoroughly enjoyable and a really good standard of work on show.  High spot for me was the fantastic wire work of CELIA SMITH, a very good friend of printmaker JULIA MANNING. Celia's birds really are quite special; having admired them from afar, I really couldn't resist them in reality and can't wait to see them happily at home here in Norfolk.

Having cunningly missed the rain by going to the preview reception on the Thursday evening, I rounded off the day investigating the merits of a very satisfactory single malt with my old mate RICHARD GODFREY.  Devon really does seem very seductive at times!

It is very easy to regard North Norfolk as quiet, but it's only after an undisturbed night's sleep in the heart of the South Hams, you realise just how noisy Burnham Market is - particularly when you are hard on the street.  Breakfast in the garden, complete with freshly-baked bread and surrounded by evidence of Richard and Chris's other skills - colour (a riot?) and burgeoning plant growth made it hard to believe that Devon too has been very dry this spring, whilst the new fence replacing the one blown to bits by the winter's gales is testimony to Richard's carpentry. Inevitably, we ended up in the studio, picking out new pots for the gallery and consuming rather too much coffee.  It's a hard life.

Moving on, Totnes exerted its usual magnetism and left me wondering just why this town is so vibrant - if a bit hippy - whist Norfolk's market towns still seem to struggle.  Having said that, I don't think I could live there... it's just so full.  Even out of school holidays, the roads are packed and it certainly feels like everyone's rushing to get somewhere. A quick trip back to the Bovey Tracey fair revealed further delights and established new connections -  particularly on the pottery front.  Dodging some hefty downpours - they certainly still seem to do these on a more dramatic scale in Devon than we do - ended the day with my good friend Robin Tolson, chewing over the technicalities of what the Judiciary wear on high days and holidays!

Having spent a good few hours looking at pots and talking about pots and potters - it seemed not a bad thing to head for the hills and blow a few cobwebs away.  Right on the western edge of Dartmoor, it seemed only appropriate to have a proper Devon ice-cream, if only out of respect for our wonderful printer RICHARD CLOVER's continuing exploration of the art of the cone back in Norfolk.  Another downpour of biblical proportions gave way to Turner-esque light over Cornwall and a quick mile and a half walk up the nearest Tor.  Not seeing a soul anywhere other than those esconsed in their cars in the car park, it came as a somewhat puzzling if pleasant surprise to come across a crisp £5 note lying on the path.  Lots of hungry sheep, a few ponies and a brisk wind - but definitely no people.  So where had it come from?  Just another of life's little mysteries, I guess.

All that Jazz

One of the very few disappointments about being here in the Burnhams, has been that I arrived just too late for The Balcony.  By the end of 2007, the focus for Jazz here had moved to The Hoste.  Not knowing much about what had gone before, I couldn't believe my luck that, under the direction of Reg, each summer was punctuated by cool concerts in the Moroccan Garden featuring musicians like Ian Shaw and Sarah Jane Morris.  However - people kept talking about The Balcony.

Finally, last Saturday, jazz returned to The Balcony and this time I was there.  Two fabulous musicians - KIT DOWNES and LEWIS WRIGHT. The two of them have been playing together, Kit on piano and Lewis on vibes, for over 10 years having met as members of the Norwich Students Jazz Orchestra.  Since then they have moved onwards and upwards developing their musical relationship playing in Clark (son of the great Stan) Tracey's Sextet and other groups.  The current duo project is their latest collaboration with new music written by both Lewis and Kit - and on the basis of Saturday's showing this looks likely to run. What great music!  The understanding and synchronicity (is that a real word?) seemed seamless. Improvised or scripted? Difficult to tell - but just great. And on the doorstep, too.

If you want to get a flavour of Kit's jazz piano their are two albums readily available from Amazon and the like - 'Golden' from 2009 and 'Quiet Tiger' released earlier this year.

Awaydays

Having escaped the clutches of the gallery for a couple of days, Saturday afternoon found us in deepest Northamptonshire, celebrating - too well and not wisely - Alison's Godfather's 80 years on the planet.  Not satisfied with creating a delightful home woven into the fine weave of the village, he has also cunningly contrived to have as a neighbour, garden designer Johnny Amos.  Whilst the planners (bless their hearts) decreed that the neighbours should not be allowed to enjoy views of this, Johnny very generously invited us all to have a look.

Within what is really quite a small plot, he has created a truly wonderful garden with an intricate series of interlocking spaces. And the plants ... just beautiful!

Sunday morning found us taking the air in one of my childhood haunts - Stratford upon Avon. Growing up less than 20 miles away, it has always amused me that people travel from the 4 corners of the earth to pay homage - whilst we only went as a last resort if nothing better could be found.  Much remains the same... but the Theatre has changed - for the better.  Quite a revelation and very much worth a look if you're in the area.  47 years ago, as a family we visited the Exhibition celebrating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth and tucked away inside the new theatre is a wonderful exhibition, FOLIO, of prints produced at that time by amongst others - Frink and Tilson. This runs until October and is free!

Making the most of our brief sojourn we eventually - the road signing is absurd and should be ignored - found our circuitous way to Compton Verney. This stately pile, the work of Robert Adam, found itself in near terminal decline as the 20th century progressed. However it is now home to a gallery (the work of Stanton Williams I think) and a collection that is of international standing. Definitely worth a visit - and a pleasant way to pass an hour or two.

Heat of the moment

Clearly I am in the wrong sector. I am reliably informed that at the Boat/Boot sale at Overy Staithe this afternoon I offered to sell two items at £2 each or £5 for the pair. Oh well it's all in a good cause.

Another Bank Holiday!

If it's Friday or Monday it just must be a Bank Holiday - or so it seems!  Can't quite remember a normal week as it feels like everybody's been on holiday or celebrating or... for weeks.  Equally the sun continues to shine which is fantastic unless you want the garden to grow - and at the moment there is just no sign of rain in the forecast.

In the gallery, NICKY LOUTIT's exhibition got off to a great start with a really well attended private view and some pleasing sales.

It's been really encouraging to see that Nicky's highly distinctive paintings have been so appreciated and that there is a market for serious art in these slightly strange times.  The exhibition has received some deserved coverage in the press and there have been a number of visitors who have travelled considerable distances to view it.  It runs for another two weeks, so there is still time to see it - and they really should be seen, reproduction only conveying some of their quality. Since its opening it has been visited by over 200 people which is not bad for a small gallery competing with wall to wall sunshine and a royal wedding!

Speaking of which, in the same time we have celebrated two family birthdays, one on the Welsh Borders looking out over the sublime landscape of Hergest (Mike Oldfield) Ridge

 and one one closer to home here in Norfolk, which got pleasingly entangled with the Royal Wedding!

I suspect the next few days are going to seem rather quiet by comparison!