A Tale of Two Rivers

It was the best of days, it was the worst of days: as so often the King’s Lynn weather could not quite decide what it was up to.

The two rivers of my title are the Great Ouse and the Nar, both of which I walked along some of yesterday. Rumours the spring is  upon us may not be so far wide of the mark – I saw a privately owned boat at the Jetty on the Great Ouse in King’s Lynn…

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A brief diversion to check in on my Aunt’s place in her absence, revealed that even the most familiar of surroundings can spring surprises – this cannon ball in the entrance way to Hampton Court that I had not previously noted…

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“Cormorant Platform” revealed no cormorants, but some other sea birds…

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I continued along the riverbank further than usual, passing the new road bridge (before this was built the river could be crossed either by ferry or by taking a 12 mile detour via Wiggenhall St Germans, and paying a punitive toll to the Barons of Rising – the ruling class were even more open about fleecing us in those days!) finding more stuff to photograph…

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I spotted a position from which I could take “townscape” photos of King’s Lynn looking back down the river and bagged a couple…

Townscape 1 - can you ID all the landmarks in there?
Townscape 1 – can you ID all the landmarks in there?
Townscape 2 - with the zoom increased.
Townscape 2 – with the zoom increased.

I walked on past Palm Paper (first photograph of next series) and then just before leaving the Great Ouse (and far further inland than I would expect) I finally spotted a pair of cormorants…

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The small section of walking between leaving the Great Ouse and joining the Nar produced only a few photos…

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An unusual sight - a British roundabout and no traffic!
An unusual sight – a British roundabout and no traffic!
A ruin just on the edge of South Lynn
A ruin just on the edge of South Lynn
The South Lynn logo.
The South Lynn logo.

The Nar Valley way runs almost interrupted (save for the bit where it intersects with the Nar Valley Park development) from King’s Lynn to Dereham, so once I had hit the Nar I could follow it to the South Gate, and which point I diverged to head home through the parkland…

A distant view of the Nar Valley Park development.
A distant view of the Nar Valley Park development.

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More of the Nar Valley Park development
More of the Nar Valley Park development
A first view of the South Gate
A first view of the South Gate

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A tributary of a tributary (the Nar ultimately flows into the Ouse at what I call Cormorant Platform)
A tributary of a tributary (the Nar ultimately flows into the Ouse at what I call Cormorant Platform)

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A moorhen in the urban section of the Nar
A moorhen in the urban section of the Nar

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Almost the last pic, and the only one of the day of Britain's soon to be national bird!
Almost the last pic, and the only one of the day of Britain’s soon to be national bird!
Work proceeds apace at the bus station.
Work proceeds apace at the bus station.

I had a go as a kind of tribute to this blog’s latest follower, Charlotte Hoather, at creating a ‘playlist’ to fit my themes:

The Birds by Ottorino Respighi, The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams,The First Cuckoo in Spring by Frederick Delius,The Banks of Green Willow by George Butterworth, Symphony no 6, The Pastoral by Ludwig Van Beethoven. As well as these there were naturally a couple of famous ‘river’ pieces the sprang instantly to mind, Vltava (Bedrich Smetana) and the Blue Danube (Johann Strauss II) – The Great Ouse when the sun is shining is bluer than the Danube ever is (and I have seen both).

Proof it’s NOT benefit fraudsters being targeted by Cameron, but the genuinely sick and even dying

A devastating indictment of the way people in benefits are treated today, courtesy of Tom Pride (each link takes you to a horror story)…

Tom Pride's avatarPride's Purge

(not satire – it’s the UK today!)

DWP tells grieving mum her sick son must attend work interview – on the day of his funeral

The Department for Work and Pensions sent a letter to the mother of a dying man telling him he had to attend a work interview while he was in intensive care.

And although the man’s mother told the Job Centre about her son’s serious condition – they ignored her and sent another letter which arrived on the day of her son’s funeral:

Grieving Burntwood mum hits out over job centre’s letter

But this is NOT an isolated case or a simple mistake.

Here is yet more proof that it is NOT so-called benefits fraudsters who are being targeted by the Cameron/Clegg government – but the genuinely sick, disabled and even dying:

Shameful Britain: terminal cancer patient told to attend work interviews or lose benefits

Thousands of Cancer Patients Wait For Six Months…

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2nd Anniversary

This post by Charlotte Hoather relates to one of my lifelong loves, classical music…

Charlotte Hoather's avatarCharlotte Hoather

2nd-Anniversary-Blog

It has been two years since I first decided to start my blog and record the experiences and opportunities that I would face as a student here at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. So here I am 230 posts later and to everyone that has joined me here, supported my endeavours, shared in my experiences and provided invaluable advice I just want to say thank you.

I just love this time of year as all the rehearsals are coming to fruition and the performance dates are just around the corner.
On the 17th April at 7:30 pm I will be taking part with my fellow students at the RCS in our chamber choir, conducted again this year by Frikki Walker at St Mary’s Cathedral, Glasgow.

Double Bill Opera Image
The following day I am very excited that my family and friends will be traveling to Glasgow to see me take part in the Scottish…

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Tory Minister for Disabled Esther McVey set to lose her seat at election

A great possibility (in both senses) – a “McVile” Moment might match the Portillo Moment of 1997!

Tom Pride's avatarPride's Purge

(not satire – it’s the Tories!)

Controversial hardline Tory Minister for the Disabled Esther McVey is set to lose her seat at the General Election.

In McVey’s Wirral West constituency, Labour are on 42% in the latest polls with the Conservatives on 37%:

Labour ahead in Wirral West

It is McVey’s policies which have been responsible for forcing the disabled – as well as seriously sick people such as cancer patients – into extreme poverty and hunger:

UK today: 40% of cancer patients can’t afford to heat their home properly

A new low for the UK: disabled man starves to death

Dying of cancer? Work or starve: the end of the welfare state

Iain Duncan Smith’s portrait made from photos of people who died for being poor

Cameron’s Britain: 7-year old cancer patients on foodbank handouts

Bedroom tax exemptions? Not for injured soldiers, disabled children or adults with carers

.

I’m normally more of a beer or whisky man, but…

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A West Norfolk Walk and Britain’s National Bird

For those interested in birds, a vote is being taken to decide which will be Britain’s national bird. There is a shortlist of ten, from which I have voted for the Blackbird. For more details and/or to vote visit www.votenationalbird.com. Below is how I introduced this to my twitter followers…

Britiains National Bird

Yesterday afternoon I felt like varying things a bit, so I decided I would follow Bawsey Drain as far as possible, and did so until it hit the Gaywood River, at which point I followed that waterway until I reached Wootton Road, whence I headed back into town, via the Gaywood Clock. I finished up by walking through the parkland to Seven Sisters, past the South Gate and down to the Great Ouse via Hardings Pits, following the river as close as is permitted until reaching Devil’s Alley, which I diverged down as it was necessary to check in on my Aunt’s house and make sure all was OK. Having finished there I returned home by going down St Margaret’s Lane to the river and heading along the bank to the Lower Purfleet, which I followed into the heart of the town before crossing the bridge into Baker Lane car park and arriving back at my flat almosgt exactly three hours after departure.

My candidate for Britain’s national bird was much in evidence, as these pictures show…

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There were many other birds in evidence as well, some of which I did justice to…

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Of course, I also spotted some interesting architectural features…

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For my penultimate set of pictures I am going to focus on the Great Ouse…

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To end this post, although it came in the middle of the walk I will feature Gaywood’s principal landmark, a clock that is also a war memorial…

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Foot-in-mouth Tory Chairman Grant Shapps says recession is like “an amusement ride”

Tom Pride gives Mr Shapps/ Green/ Fox (Sebastian Fox is yet a third identity that this man has used!) some thoroughly well merited hammer.

Tom Pride's avatarPride's Purge

(not satire – it’s the Tories!)

Tory Party chairman Grant Shapps thinks the recession we’ve been experiencing for the last 7 years is like ‘an amusement ride’.

He also suggests struggling families can survive the recession by investing in real estate, futures or bonds, eating ice cream and taking regular skiing holidays!

Obviously when people are actually struggling to feed their families, he wouldn’t dare say such an outrageous thing under his own name for fear it would affect his party’s electoral prospects.

So he didn’t.

He said it under his pseudonym, Michael Green, instead.

Michael Green refers to himself as ‘a successful online marketer’,  ‘marketing guru’ and states ‘his wealth is such that he actually flies his very own personal plane and also lives in a fabulous mansion’.

But Grant Shapps, the Tory Party co-chairman, has admitted Michael Green is the pseudonym he uses to separate his business activities (which

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Architectural Features of a Norfolk Village (1)

I am treating this as the first of a series of related posts owing to the fact that time restrictions on Wednesday when I took the photographs that are its raison d’etre meant that we (my mother and I) accounted for barely a tithe of the interesting buildings in the village (East Rudham).

We had hoped to start with the Manor House but this was not accessible, although the publicly accessible part of its driveway provided an angle to capture the rear window of The Old Reading Room and also a section of brick and flint wall…

Brick and flint walls are classic for the part of Norfolk.
Brick and flint walls are classic for the part of Norfolk.
The rear window of The Reading Room
The rear window of The Reading Room

Having got a shot of the rear window of the building, The Old Reading Room was an obvious next port of call…

The front door of the Old Reading Room
The front door of the Old Reading Room
A close up of the name plate.
A close up of the name plate.

Just across the road from the Old Reading Room, is the Wesleyan Chapel, these days a private residence rather than a religious building…

The Wesleyan Chapel
The Wesleyan Chapel
A close up of the name and date plate.
A close up of the name and date plate.

After the Wesleyan Chapel came several very quirky specimens of local archiecture at the near end of School Road…

The lines of brickwork show the original shape of this building.
The lines of brickwork show the original shape of this building.
A modern version of a brick and flint gable end.
A modern version of a brick and flint gable end.
This outhouse roof section was a real curio.
This outhouse roof section was a real curio.
Another gable end whose history can be read clearly!
Another gable end whose history can be read clearly!
Brick and flint is the regular mix in this part of the world, but this building features brick and carr (the dark brown stone)
Brick and flint is the regular mix in this part of the world, but this building features brick and carr (the dark brown stone)

From the near end of school road, we proceeded round the south side of the village green, starting with a shot of a section of brick and flint wall and continuing with a couple of a large barn behind which lurks a modern house…

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Before proceeding to take front on shots of the barn and the cottages that adjoin it, I took a couple of panoramic views from the green…

The line of properties on the main road ends with one that until recently was both an eyesore and a health hazard (years of neglect had left it so run down that even the rats had moved on)
The line of properties on the main road ends with one that until recently was both an eyesore and a health hazard (years of neglect had left it so run down that even the rats had moved on)
The village pub and the tea room next door to it.
The village pub and the tea room next door to it.

The barn has a very fancy weathercock above it…

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Next we come to two cottages painted in pastel colours (one yellow, one blue)…

The yellow cottage
The yellow cottage
Both cottages in one shot
Both cottages in one shot
The blue cottage
The blue cottage

These two properties are separated by the width of what I have called “Fox Gate” from the detached cottage called Caradon…

"Fox Gate"
“Fox Gate”

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Caradon
Caradon
The name plate
The name plate

Between Caradon and the old post office (a very short distance) were a number of other properties to be photographed…

070 071 072 073 074 075 076 077 078 079

The building that used to be the post office is now much improved from the mouldering wreck it had become before restoration…

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From here, via a shot of the side of the pub it was on to the church, the approach to which goes past an old cottage…

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I took several shots of the church, was is almost entirely 19th Century, with a few hints of older stuff around…

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The entrance ti the building.
The entrance ti the building.

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I spotted this quirky window on the way out of the churchyard.
I spotted this quirky window on the way out of the churchyard.

Although it involved some mildly unpleasant walking, the churchyard provided a few other good brick and flint shots and a slightly tree obscured shot of the Manor House…

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The penultimate phase of this picture gathering expedition involved taking close ups of London House and the adjoining building that had not so long ago been an eyesore and a health hazard – there were loose tiles on the roof, and a not terribly wide pavement between the front of the building and the A148 (and for all that for that part of its length IT IS THE VILLAGE STREET not many motorists take due note of this important fact)…

This is the replacement for the derelict shop which had become an eyesore and a health hazard.
This is the replacement for the derelict shop which had become an eyesore and a health hazard.
And this is London House
And this is London House
The name plate.
The name plate.

The final picture was this ‘home shot’ – on the right of the shot as you look is Mulberry Coach House and straight ahead is part of Mulberry Barn (this property now forms a right-angle, as two loose boxes have been converted into extra rooms)…

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