Hello and welcome to the summer hot, hot, hot, edition of hearsay.  Where the weather has been as steamy as the deputy Prime Minister's bedroom and the rain clouds have been as rare as a farmer on a bike!  Yes it is safe to say that I am about as happy as Sheringham's own Warbling granddad!  Quite whatever a warbling grandad is I'm not sure but sounds fun to mine ears.  Unlike however the news that was to strike abject horror to many that a traveller's camp might get the go ahead up along the top Cromer/Holt Road.  Supposedly to accommodate roaming families from Suffolk and farther afield.   Now you must pardon me if I missed something here.  But, if I should ever decide to tie a luxurious small house to the back of my Merc and go off on me travels the length and breadth of the land and then expect anyone and every one to let me kip wherever I want for nowt; that's a bit much isn't it.  Have they not heard of legitimate campsites?  Why can't they stop and pay like everyone else? Perhaps I'll give it a go in my next life.  When I decide to pack up my belongings and jaunt off and embark on the permanent holiday life I'd nip about the country collecting and accumulating enough scrap metal to build the Titanic, only to leave most of it strewn across the two acre paddock for the rate payers to pick up the bill.  It'd always been a yen of mine to turn a few natural beauty spots into something that resembles a nuclear blast site in just under a fortnight.  Just where in God's name does this rubbish come from anyway?   Oops - I'm raving now so I'll stop it!  - Sorry.  One thought though, why is it that the NNDC never seems to suggest they build it on the fields surrounding their offices.  After all that piece of ground seems to have been a suggested site for just about everything else why not this?

So moving on.  Well it seems that our police forces are not to merge after all.   It must be very comforting to the government that yet another piece of their dreamt up nonsensical legislation and streamlining was again recognised as a dirty great load of unworkable drivel.  OH AND THERE ARE SO MANY!  Still isn't it lovely to see that normality prevails on the East End Tank, where the powers that be have placed the children's art work again.  Yes we can all enjoy these delights as we enter and exit the new mobile loos that would not look out of place on a Bullen site.  Leaving as they have the other toilet block up the steps boarded up vandalized and in total disrepair, just as the slope and steps leading to the seafront from the "bump" putting-green.  It reminded me of my head first thing in the morning, grey and blotchy, full of cracks with an uneven surface that has seen better days!

As we have touched upon before, summer is here and with it come our legendary grockles.   They come in all shapes and sizes and luckily, in their thousands.  But unfortunately along with the heat out comes the flesh.  Yes you know what I mean. Great hairy white legs in white sports socks with the blue and red go faster bands round the tops, string vests, bum bags with matching sun-visors and fake designer shades, all complete with facial hair and factor 90 smeared over the lips, nose and armpits.  And that's just the ladies!  In fact the only respite the town gets from fashion fatigue is when the tide is out and most of these folk have gone to explore the nautical delights of our foreshore.  And what a wonderful place that is.  A place for beer, bar- b-qs and masquerading around in as little as one dares so as to just cover the modesty slot with a piece of string and a thick pipe cleaner.  Which reminds me I must get that chimney swept before the next weather trough moves through.  Talking of troughs though.  I see that three rather large, what look like water troughs have appeared at the Norwich line railway station car park.  As I write nothing as yet has been put in them.  So I was wondering what they were going to do with them.  And indeed does the railway know something we don't?  Perhaps me thought they were going to fill them with water as some kind of unofficial water feature to keep the rail passengers from getting too hot under the collar in case of summer delays.  Or perhaps they are for cattle to elevate the animal's thirst after a long arduous journey from farm to farm.   Which does suggest they might be going into the moving of live goods.  Which would be a refreshing change there then to many passengers who actually travel that line and never see a living soul collecting monies or otherwise.  I suspect however that the real reason is that eventually they will be filled in with coloured flora to delight the eye.  Then shove them across the road to divert the traffic flow round and over the bridge to allow the trains straight through to Holt.  And who knows in the future possibly the wider world of Fakenham, Kings Lynn and Hogwarts!

Well that's me done for this time except to say well done to all of you who put time and effort into the Carnival.  More on that next time but for now take care Vic.

EXCEL 2000

What is Excel 2000?  In a word - A MOTIVATOR.  Just as we had Mr Motivator on our TV screens Excel 2000 is the motivator you can use for your needs and your friends needs to keep moving; and it's fun!  Excel 2000 is the 'helping hand' for all sufferers of immobility, whatever your problem, whatever your age this Charity can help you get moving and take on a new lease of life.

Excel has fully qualified Instructors in and around Sheringham with special water based exercise classes at Splash on Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  You don't have to be a swimmer to attend, all you need is a smile and a swimsuit and a will to 'get moving on'.   These sessions are promoted by staff at the local surgery.

To keep up with demand Excel 2000 needs more people of all ages to train as Instructors.   The Charity has run Courses for Carers funded by the Acorn Grant Programme.   It welcomes any assistance from local businesses including sponsorship and raffle prizes.  Also volunteers are urgently needed.  If you can help in any way please give us a call on 01263 825670 and ask for Penny.

Thanks to Comic Relief and a refurbishment grant from Sheringham Community Chest Regeneration Scheme the Charity is now able to open its doors to help people get motivated starting with one to one sessions and introductions to their audio and video tapes which may be used at home.

Excel 2000 is just around the corner from the Learning Centre - at 1A North Street Sheringham: just pop into the office and have a coffee, you will be made very welcome.
Ineke Crocker

CROMER & SHERINGHAM ROTARY

The Rotary year began in July for the Cromer and Sheringham Club with a move to a new meeting time.  The venue or the Wednesday meetings will continue to be the Dormy House Hotel at West Runton, but the meeting will now be 6pm for 6.30pm. With changing business commitments, it was felt that there was more opportunity for active business members to attend an early evening meeting rather than the lunchtime gathering the club had operated since its foundation in the 1930s.

The Paul Harris Award is named after the founder of Rotary.  The number of awards a club is entitled to make to both members and non-members is related to the funding-raising the club undertakes on behalf of Rotary International, with the Cromer and Sheringham club being able to make four such awards during this year.
Peter Stibbons for Cromer and Sheringham Rotary