Kett Life

So here we are in the full swing of summer – loving the warm sunshine and long drawn out evenings. What could be better than eating supper alfresco, firing up the barbecue and making the most of our gardens, however dry and arid they might look at the moment! 

One of the absolute joys of living in Norfolk is having space around you – whether a garden, rolling meadows or farm land – many of us are so lucky to be living in the countryside and now is the time of year to celebrate this and make the most of our surroundings. 

As I have often mentioned, I think a good many people who are regular visitors to this fine county (or who are visiting for the first time this summer) may in time feel the urge to either relocate here full time or invest in a second property for weekends and holidays. I can assure you that I have a number of clients who are very keen to buy, but sadly not quite enough houses to sell them! So I am happy to say that for any lead or introduction that results in a sale or purchase I will provide a case of delicious Edward Parker champagne to hopefully get the ball rolling and entice you to pick up the telephone and call me if you are thinking of selling.

 I have a wonderful elderly gentleman who is keen to downsize and is looking for a barn conversion – he would like a newly developed property to reduce the risk of anything going wrong (his last house had endless leaks and creaks) and will need a single storey dwelling as he is confined to a wheelchair. I have seen a converted dairy barn that may well be perfect – the light switches are all at a lower level, the doors are wide enough and there are no steps that would be a hindrance – “You must remember Jamie” my client exclaimed “I am a bit like a darlek! I wheel around and must try not to bump in to things!”. This image made me chuckle and I was so glad that he takes his current predicament in such good humour. “Stone floors are preferable because if wooden floors get wet I am likely to slide about like a bumper car….”. 

www.jamiesonpropertysearch.co.uk    07717 311377    jj@jamiesonpropertysearch.co.uk

It’s amazing how quickly time flies in Norfolk - once again the children’s summer holidays are upon us and they’ll be expecting exciting things to do over the next couple of months. Let’s face it though, parents shouldn’t really have a problem as the north Norfolk coast provides a natural outdoor playground for everyone to explore, whatever the weather.

Food provenance is becoming more important to us foodies. When we bought our small holding last year our intention was to start growing our own vegetables, keep chickens and rear some rare breed pigs in an effort to come to a better understanding and appreciation of how the food we eat is actually produced.

It has been the most exciting time learning how much work, patience and enjoyment there is in growing some vegetables and raising some livestock and now we are already reaping the rewards. I think anyone will tell you that nothing tastes as good as something straight from the garden.

The most fun we have had though is raising our pigs. We have two Gloucester Old Spots. As everyone knows they are very intelligent animals. Amusing, greedy and very friendly. They like nothing better than being scratched and bounding up to you grunting like a good’n. They are very easy to look after, hardy and surprisingly hygienic. They make the very best rotovators and at the same time add natural manure.

The only problem is that I have found myself becoming too fond of their antics so that I am going to find it very difficult to take them to off to ‘you know where’ and turn them into bacon, cured ham, sausages, pork belly, pig cheeks, trotters, ham hock, pancetta, salami…

Last week I went to meet the butcher, Howard’s of Gayton who have their own abattoir. It is only ten minutes away from us, which will help reduce the stress Bacon and Butty (don’t ever name your pigs) will have to endure on their final journey. My intention being to mentally prepare myself for what will happen at the end of August.

Many chefs no longer have the skills that butchers have. 50 years ago most decent hotels would have their own butchery department, but over the years with increasing costs and time limitations this luxury has all but disappeared as far as I know. Often a chef only orders the final cuts of meat and loses that sense of connection with the beast it came from. When you have 110 people coming in for a Saturday night service you hardly want the customers in the restaurant saying “waiter my food’s taking a long time! Has the chef gone out to catch it?”

It is a long time since I butchered a whole pig so I hope to help prep the carcasses after they are slaughtered. I do feel that if you are going to eat meat you have to be prepared to understand how your pork chop eventually ends up on your plate. Maybe we’ll organize a cookery workshop on pork butchery.

Kett Country Cottages is pleased to announce the appointment of a new member of staff. Kaptain Klaw joins us from the Sherringham and Cromer Crab and Lobster Festival and will shortly take up the position of “Official Mascot and Occasional Crowd Pleaser” and we hope that he will be joining us at a number of events in Norfolk this summer. The Kaptain has already successfully raise several hundreds of pounds for local charities and is looking forward to his move into the corporate sector.

Talking of ‘superheroes’, we are also delighted that one of the Kett Country Cottages team will be taking up the Norfolk Superhero Challenge on Saturday 19th June 2010. James Kilpatrick and his partner Milla Beeson will be swimming 1 mile, kayaking 2.5 miles, cycling 38 miles and then running 7 miles to raise money for a number of charities that make a real difference to the North Norfolk Community. The run is a particularly gruelling part of the challenge as much of it is along the beach and the last mile is through the mud and ditches of the Burnham Overy salt marshes.

The finish line!

They have set up 3 online donation pages and we have decided to support them at http://www.justgiving.com/beautyandthebeastwellshospitalrenalunit. If you enjoy holidaying in Norfolk it would be wonderful if you could support them too.

I have seen a good few houses over the years and occasionally come across things I find surprising – sometimes even shocking! This is part and parcel of my job and an integral part of what I do on behalf of my clients – find out any idiosyncracies about a property, good or bad, so the necessary decisions or changes can be made. 

 There could be smells or sounds emanating from nearby that may or may not be welcome (a turkey farm next door would be a bore – but a little, rural bakery could be wonderful!) – or maybe even a nearby group of Tiger Moth enthusiasts who rev up and fly around every Sunday afternoon – a great sight to behold, but it may disturb your much needed weekend peace and quiet! 

 I can often tell a lot about a house before I even cross the threshold and have learnt to trust my instincts. Twice when I arrived at a house at the appointed time there was a tractor mowing the grass at the front – radiating that delightful cut grass smell so evocative of the summer. On my second visit the tractor driver had stopped to have his sandwich as I was leaving – and it was then I could hear clearly the traffic zooming along the road at the bottom of the garden. The road may have been out of sight, but without the block of the tractor engine – it was an unwelcome and ever steady noise.

 On one particular visit to another house I noticed in the hallway a rather murky looking fish tank. The tank didn’t appear to be plugged in and had only an inch of water in it. The whole appearance of said tank was rather dingy and there were no fish but only what appeared to be a greeny coloured piece of old wood inside. “Odd” I thought to myself.

 I inspected the house and was just about to leave when I took another cursory glance at the tank. The greeny coloured piece of wood blinked at me. And then moved a bit. On closer inspection it appeared there was in fact a turtle of some kind in residence. Now whether the turtle was included in the contents for sale at this house I have no idea, but I think Mr Turtle might have appreciated a new tank or at least a bit of a spring clean!

www.jamiesonpropertysearch.co.uk       07717 311377       jj@jamiesonpropertysearch.co.uk