 GARDENING
SEEDS
I hate waste, and few things strike me as more wasteful- and lazy for that matter- than
buying fully-grown annuals. After all, those petunias or marigolds for the winder box
could easily be grown from seed for a fraction of the cost. Why is it then that garden
centres do a roaring trade in petunias, geraniums, marigolds etc, all at vast prices when
with a bit of foresight the buyers could have the huge satisfaction of growing them from
seed? I can only imagine they've no idea how easy it is. Everyone knows it's simple to
grow a row of carrots directly in the soil. However, the idea of forcing plants under
glass indoors puts people off. But don't be alarmed, it's like falling off a log. You wont
need a heated greenhouse, only your warm, light window ledge. Add to that a few seed
trays, seed and potting compost, a packet of seeds and you're off.
If you have a greenhouse you might also think of investing in an electric propagator
for it. It will use much less electricity than heating the whole place, but will provide
bottom-heat and protection from the frosty air. There are a good many on the market, so
nose around in your local garden centre. Nothing looks prettier than a mass of petunias
flowering in a window box from June to October and there are dazzling colour and
variations to choose from.
Norfolk Orbital Railway
The Holt, Melton Constable and Fakenham Railway Ltd. (HMC&FR) is the organisation
which has been pursuing the Norfolk Orbital Railway project. This aims long term to link
existing Network Rail lines, the North Norfolk Railway (NNR) and the Mid Norfolk Railway
(MNR) to provide a new public transport facility for the county. The first stage is the
linking of the highly successful Norwich - Sheringham Bittern Line and NNR at Sheringham.
By agreement with NNR, the HMC&FR has been progressing this as a priority through
extensive negotiations with Network Rail and other relevant bodies. The HMC&FR
directors are David Rees, Trevor Bailey and David Bill who were founders of what became
NNR and a central part of a small group that saved the railway and some of its now famous
locomotives and rolling stock in the 1960 's during the overwhelming Beeching rail closure
of the time. The fourth member of the team, and financial expert, is local resident Derek
Haynes. Both Trevor Bailey and David Bill grew up in Sheringham and have travelled on the
railway since early childhood. The Orbital Railway Project has a large number of paid up
supporters several of whom, such as Sheringham resident Peter Baldwin, are highly active
in representing the project.
Network Rail's view has always been crucial to progress with the Sheringham Rail link.
After a lot of careful discussion with HMCFR, Network Rail has now decided that it will be
happy to see the construction of an initial "occasional use " link between the
Bittern Line and NNR; a distance of only a few yards across the former level crossing over
Station Road. At first this will allow limited use for special excursion trains and
rolling stock movements. David Rees said that although the "Occasional use "
link does not fulfil the whole of HMC&FR's hopes for Sheringham it is a vital step
forward and it is very encouraging that Network Rail are so supportive of allowing a
physical connection between the two railways. As will be well known, we have drawn up
plans in collaboration with NNR for a joint station for both the Bittern Line and NNR,
using the original station now owned by NNR, and for an integrated transport interchange
allowing the easiest possible links between the two rail services, buses, cars, bicycles
and pedestrians. This is based upon very successful models already operating elsewhere and
suggested by Network Rail personnel as a future-proof solution to the unsatisfactory
existing Network Rail station. This concept is strongly supported by the Bittern Line
Partnership and the Norfolk Rail Policy Group, the key body backing railway development in
the county which is co-ordinated by the County Council. For more information please
contact Stan Sabberton on 01263 833 406. |
Delphinium
According to Sheringham financial advisor Pam Blyth, age is no barrier to reaching the
top of the career ladder, and for women in business, 60 is the new 40. A mother of 4 and
grandmother of eleven, Pam, who turned 60 last August, trained as an independent financial
advisor 18 years ago. And, in spite of already running 2 business - and spending at least
26 days a year sitting in court as a magistrate - she this year spotted a gap in the
market and decided to set up yet another company. Named Delphinium, after her favourite
flower, Pam's latest venture aims to provide specialist financial advice solely for the
over 60s. "What I wanted to do was to make sure that people who have retired, or who
are about to retire, get advice tailored specifically to their needs," she said.
Pam, who last year won appeals for two clients fighting for NHS care funding, aims to
offer a one-to-one service advising on key retirement issues including life assurance,
inheritance tax, long term care funding, and retirement and tax planning. "What
worried me was that retired people who have been saving all their lives can't afford to
lose any of their capital, and, over the years, my concern has grown about the type of
advice elderly people and their families are getting," she explained. Pam threw
herself into community life when she moved to Sheringham nearly 30 years ago. A founder
member of a fundraising group for the town's health centre, she helped raise cash for
nebulisers, foetal heart monitors and ECG machines by coming up with money-making ideas
ranging from cake sales to pulling a plane along the runway at Norwich Airport.
As a carnival committee member, in 1989 she hit on the idea of forming a morris dancing
group. "It started out as another way of raising funds for the health centre, but,
nearly 20 years later, Sheringham's Lobster Potties morris side is still dancing,"
she explained.
At the beginning of 2007, Pam set up specialist long-term care advice company Anglia Care
Co-ordinators with Norwich solicitors Clapham and Collinge. And, despite also juggling the
demands of helping to run the family holiday cottage business, she decided to apply to
become a magistrate, and heard her first case at Great Yarmouth last January. "I just
felt that I had got to a stage in my life where I couldn't do morris dancing any more, but
I still wanted to do something for the community," Pam said. "I thought that
this would be a good way of putting something back."
Pam, who completed a year's training before qualifying, would like to see more young
people applying to become magistrates. "Once you understand how it all works it
really opens your eyes," she said. "And although it is quite a commitment, it is
a fantastic experience, and you end up dealing with everything from traffic offences to
theft. Although she relies on a cleaner to keep her house spick and span, Pam does still
find time away from her busy work schedule to look after her large garden, and to host
regular dinner parties for friends with husband Tony. "Age is not important to me,
and sixty is nothing," she says. "Having said that, it does of course have an
impact on your energy levels when you get older, but it is just a matter of being
organised." For Pam, staying active is the key to feeling young and, she says, being
an older woman in business has never been easier. "Mind you, whatever age you are, I
do think women still have to work much harder than men to succeed, but if you enjoy what
you do and learn to multitask, then the sky's the limit." And although officially of
retirement age herself, she has no plans to give up work - not for another 10 years at
least. "Anyway, if I retire, it would mean I'd have to go home and do the
housework," she joked. |
