Kett Life

So folks – No need to veg out in front of the telly when you can do yourselves a favour and help us to keep music “live” in North Norfolk at this new and stylish venue.  We have had some great shows here to date featuring The Animals, Dr. Feelgood, Nine Below Zero, The Manfreds, Fairport Convention, Chris Farlowe and Paul Jones’ Blues Band (returning again April 1st) – to name but a few!  There have been many others whom you might not be so familiar with for example Kyla Brox, Connie Lush, Ian Siegal, Aynsley Lister plus many great Blues/Rock bands who all feature regularly on the Paul Jones Radio 2 Monday evening show (he rates this venue highly).  They will be returning again from time to time along with many new and often up and coming bands.  We have also featured some smooth Jazz in the form of the sexy Katriona Taylor from Wimbledon, daughter of the past famous British tennis player Roger Taylor.  This show  with a local seafood buffet and a dessert was an all round outstanding evening pure quality – She will be back.  New to this venue, once a month it will feature a traditional Rock and Roll band for the real purists of the teddy boy music.  It is organised by the “Blue Moon Club” from North Walsham and believe me these guys know their stuff, with big names booked each month, some coming to play here while over on tour from America! It promises to be very visual, high energy and far from dull.  Finally, the last Sunday in every month is a Folk evening, which is free for everyone and features resident band the Old Wild Rovers encouraging sing-a-long sea shanties etc.. plus music played live by anyone fancying a moment of glory (and many do).  So, there is always something happening at the Harbour Rooms it’s always good fun. For more information of further events and to read my reviews of past shows click on the website below: 

www.blakeneyharbourroom.co.uk  01263 741666  info@blakeneyharbourroom.co.uk

They wanted a curry and I got a bit excited, suggesting I bring along an authentic Tandoor I used to have at Fishes. We arranged a delicious menu of Chicken Tikka Masala, jewelled rice, chickpea and coconut curry, aubergine bharta and fresh naans,  I love curries - probably most British people do.

I just forgot that a Tandoor is a very heavy piece of kit. (All clay and stainless steel.)  So when it came time to taking it over to the cottage we realized it was almost impossible to lift and fit in our vehicle. However, help was at hand in the shape of our greatly loved red and White 1971 type 2 VW Camper … aka The Hippie Van. It slid in the side door a treat and off we went. 

It was great for the guests to watch me cook the chicken kebabs and naan breads right there in front of them. I did have to keep it outside as it gets so hot it takes all the hair off one’s arms when you slap the naan breads onto the side of the clay oven. But it was summer in Norfolk,the sun was shining and their French doors were open wide.   Perfect.

We are offering 10% off our price for a party in your holiday cottage when booked through Kett. The offer lasts until the end of September 2010. See the Kett 'Our Friends in Norfolk' page for details.

www.owsley-brown.com         01553 840190         info@owsley-brown.com 

So here I am, in my fantastic new office at Stody Farm Barns on the outskirts of Holt. I am feeling really settled and excited as the Director of Jamieson Property Search -which is wholly independent of agents.

OK, so surely Spring should be nearly here by now?  The snow was wonderful – mostly because we are so unused to seeing our landscape covered in a blanket of white, but now the green grass is back I am just plain cold.  Freezing cold in fact.  Sitting in my little office which has a decided lack of radiator – it is a miracle my hands are working well enough for me to type this – it may be I trail off mid sentence soon as frostbite sets in.  I could, I suppose, wear a pair of those horrid fingerless gloves a la Fagin, but feel they are rather sad and sorry and would rather have blue finger tips instead.  We have a holiday cottage in Stiffkey (Valley Cottage) that the good folk at Kett look after for us and it feels like the summer is a long way off.  I have always had a passion for the north Norfolk countryside and when working in London would love nothing better than a weekend out of the smog.  I actually preferred coming up to Norfolk in the autumn or winter rather than high Summer because there is something heart warming (and feet warming – equally as important) about a brisk dog walk somewhere rural and muddy and then coming in and plonking down by a roaring fire – rosy cheeks smarting and baggy socks flopping on the way to the kitchen to make an obscenely large mug of creamy hot chocolate.  White hot chocolate is a current favourite of mine, incomplete without fast melting mini marshmallows that soon turn to a sickly sweet, shaving foam like flotsam on top!  Anyway, all this talk of hot drinks has rendered me incapable of doing anything else other than putting a pan of milk on the hob – and probably ordering some more oil before we run out… doesn’t seem to last very long these days!

I love walking. This is greatly influenced by the fact that I have two terriers who also love walking (or running... usually at top speed away from me). There are so many amazing walks in Norfolk, whether coastal or inland, through marshland or woods, there is always something new to see, somewhere new to discover. I always thought we had plenty of footpaths here, but I have to say I was really quite impressed when I discovered all the DEFRA permissive pathways and field edges that have opened up (and continue to) across North Norfolk. Have a look at their website, and discover some new walks for yourselves. Just click on the blue dots on the website here: cwr.naturalengland.org.uk/Default.aspx and it will give you details of walks in each area.