KIDZ CORNER Okay, all you children aged 1 - 12 years, this column is for you.  Enter the competition(s) and you may win a prize. I went into a hardware shop and I could buy one for 23p and twelve for 46p, so I bought one hundred and twelve for 69p.  What did I buy?

CHRISTMAS WONDER SHOW

Reviewed by John Humphrey

The Auden Theatre at Gresham School is an excellent auditorium for a Christmas Wonder Show, and when I attended with my wife and four children, it was with high expectations after having met and interviewed Roy Davenport, and I must say, my initial expectations were not disappointed.

The start of the show saw the excellent Demon Dancers.  Their choreography and timing was near perfect and they all looked very good in their costumes.  Ali Bongo then made his first stuttering appearance as host, and, I'm afraid, that's how his performance carried on throughout the evening.  But, I soon forgot about that when Deanna Galipo, an Australian with the voice of an angel took to the stage.  Her performance was memorable and I would have gone to the show anyway, just to hear her interpretation of some very famous classics.  She was followed on stage by Norfolk's own very funny man, Nigel Boy Syer, who kept the audience in continuous laughter with his take-off of the funnier side of North Norfolk life.  Roy Davenport, himself, then took to the stage for an excellent, but all-too-short, appearance, demonstrating some of his incredible illusions, which kept the children in rapture throughout. All-in-all, a brilliant first half to the show.

The second half started with the very professional Demon Dancers and set the scene for another memorable half.  They were followed on by Richard Griffin and Hayley Jane, whose magic and illusion performance was excellent, faultless, and once again, too short, but was easily another highlight of the show worth going for.

David and Pauline Conway then took to the stage, performing some excellent mouth organ music with a difference.  But their performance went on, and on, and on, despite appearing to go off on at least three occasions.  They were on stage for at least 20 minutes, double what any of the other artists had, including Roy.  The children were very restless a quarter of the way into it, and I'm afraid this sort of act went out with Larry Adler.  It's not the kind of thing to keep children interested and amused.   Still, eventually, they went off and we were treated with a very funny, magical five minutes with Ali Bongo.  And then came the finale, which involved all the cast and was performed with a lot of class and was a great way to end the show.

All-in-all, a very good show, spoiled by not enough of Roy, Deanna, Richard and Hayley, and too much mouth organs.  But this was still an excellent show, despite my criticisms, and if is still on when this goes to press, go along, some of the acts are very impressive.
     

NEW YEAR CROSS COUNTRY FUN RUN TO SHAKE OFF THOSE EXCESS POUNDS!

Will the excesses of Christmas take their toll again this year?  Is it likely that you will wake up in the New Year keen to shake off the extra pounds and get fit?  Well how about planning ahead and joining BREAK and the 'North Norfolk Beach Runners' to take part in a Cross Country Event around Stody Estate, near Holt, on Sunday 29 January? Anyone from 11 years old (as at 31 August 2005) can join in the event which will have staggered starts for the participants and categories with prizes awarded for the winner of each category. Liz Holman, Community Officer for BREAK said, "We have never done a Cross Country Event before, but we hope this will be the first of many - and almost definitely an annual event.

"It is free to enter with a sponsor form, which we can provide - all you need to do is get your friends and family to sponsor you! We want this event to be enjoyable, so runners and walkers welcome - although I am sure that we will get a few people who will be competitive and race to the end! Why not come along in fancy dress - we will be awarding a prize for the best costume (as well as prizes for each category)!

"There are shorter distances for different categories - so everyone should be able to take part. We have even got our own team of entrants from Head Office here at BREAK who are taking part - Clive has recently been through a major operation and is looking to get his fitness back, while the others also want to get fit in the New Year. So come on and join them and the North Norfolk Beach Runners and help shed those excess pounds for BREAK!"
Please call Liz Holman, Community Officer on 01263 820710 for an application form or for more details.
Cross Country Event details:
Start time Category Distance
10.00am Under 13 [Girls and Boys] (For ages 11/12 years old) 3km / 1.9miles
10.30am Under 15 [Girls and Boys] (For ages 13/14 years old) 4km / 2.5miles
11.00am Under 17 [Girls and Boys] (For ages 15/16 years old) 5km / 3.1miles
Junior Women (For ages 17-19 years inc.) 5km / 3.1miles
11.30am Junior Men (For ages 17-19 years inc.) 8km / 5miles
Senior Women 8km / 5miles
Senior Men 8km / 5miles
(Senior Women and Men = aged 20 years and over)
Notes for entrants:
All ages taken as at midnight 31 August 2005.
All entrants under the age of 16 must be accompanied by an adult.
Upon receipt of your completed booking form we will send to you all relevant information, including sponsor forms and site map.
Please arrive at least half an hour before your race start time for registration at the BREAK marquee, where you will be issued with your race number.
There is ample on-site parking and for your safety the course is marshalled and will be attended by the St Johns Ambulance.
Refreshments are available on-site - Graves Mobile catering.