Friday 25th August 2023 - Muntjacs, No Fear Squirrel, New BBQ and Closure

Most months seem to pass by quickly but for some reason, August is sauntering along. No reason why that I can think of; we haven’t done anything in particular that could make it feel that way. I could speculate as to why but that could prove to be just a waste of time, so I won’t. I’ll leave it there and instead; I will recap on the past few days.

Twice, in the afternoons, we have seen muntjac deer on the field between Madams Lane and the allotment field. With little or no wind, they have been oblivious of our presence, until they've looked up from their grazing. Even then, they have continued eating until they've decided we are quite close enough and disappeared into scrub or a hedgerow. On the other hand, a squirrel showed no fear, yesterday morning. It was a youngster and came towards us on the area where the Overstrand Hotel once stood. We stood still and totally unphased, it passed between our feet before continuing towards Clifton Way. I would have dearly loved to have taken a photo but it was better to enjoy the experience rather than risk frightening it away, by moving.

Our BBQ was getting pretty decrepit, well it does get a fair bit of use, but Peter decided to carry on cooking on it, with all its quirks, until the summer sales started. Patience was rewarded with one purchased from Homebase this morning, in their sale and half price. Not just a BBQ purchased but a plant too. This was my second plant this week, there were none that I need, for sale at the very busy Car Boot Sale, but I couldn’t resist buying a hebe from a display outside a house in Pauls Lane. I should also mention how helpful the Homebase staff were, assisting with the heavy box containing the BBQ, both inside the store as well as in the car park. Needless to say, Peter had ‘hours of fun’ putting the BBQ together, supplied in assorted pieces with screws, and the instructions. Peter tells me the instructions need another page, to explain further part of the construction process.

The end of an era today. Anthea, whose husband Rob fishes from Overstrand, is closing her fish trailer in Mundesley’s shoppers’ car park. Taking over from Rob’s father, Anthea has been selling fish supplied by a wholesaler, and the crabs and lobsters hauled by Rob, for thirteen years. The trailer faces north and very cold in the winter months, so Anthea has opted to work, in more congenial premises, in Briston for Norfolk Sea Larder. We first heard about Anthea when we were told she had herrings, a fish we love and caught in the early months of autumn. We used to drive every week to buy fish from Kirsty’s Fair Maiden in Happisburgh and prior to this, Davies Fish Shop in Cromer. The round trip to Happisburgh is 25 miles and given the increase in the price of petrol not really an economical drive to resume. Briston is 16 miles from Overstrand and therefore, like Happisburgh, the distance makes it uneconomical to do each week. It looks as though we may be returning to Davies’ but we won’t be going to Morrisons, where we’ve had some pretty dire fish in the past.

Today’s photo is of sea lavender, growing in front of the beach huts. Despite its name, it’s not related to the lavender we grow in our gardens. It’s often found on the marshes where it tolerates the salty environment.