Salty Sea Shandys

The sun did a detour bypassing North Pickenham completely today. Lazy leaden skies and persistent petty pluie, that even never ending Norfolk skies can't escape, brought on rose tinted remembrance of crisp snow and sapphire heavens. Norfolk Coast found some beauty in the greyness with the familiar bulk bands of washed up razor shells.

Why we don't eat this abundant resource is a mystery, they are harvested widely across the world. They would surely be a contender for Sarah Pettegree's shopping basket as she endeavours to 'eat local' throughout February. This will include her Brays Cottage pork pies from Letheringsett, well done girl - PRtastic! Worthy sentiment living in a food centric part of the world and no one producer is better known than Bernard Matthews, whose turkey sheds now adorn Pickenham airfield, who will stand down as chairman on his 80th birthday this Sunday. Mick and Caron at the Blue Lion are all too aware of food miles, well beer kilometres anyway, serving a local Norfolk ale amongst more regular stalwarts. Everything in moderation, of course. Norfolk is Wells known for fish and chips, my favourite are from Plattens eaten by the harbour wall.

No one thinks this English delicacy is a health food, but nanny Britain has endeavoured to help you despite yourself. Not only will cutting down on the holes in the chippy salt shakers help your heart, think of the muscle workout you're getting sprinkling the sensationally savoury sodium condiment.

Brotherly love

Without wishing to light the fuse of sibling rivalry within you, my older gene gender go-getter bro has long returned to the ancestral pile where the ex king of family entertainment Sir Eric West Common Morecambe settled. No not in the North West but commuter belt Harpenden.

And now I can see whether Marham, in the Norfolk corner, is colder than the woosy Hertfordshire Rothamsted with a daily update from the Met Office. There are also bihourly updates so you can see just how cold it officially is. He was colder in the last 24 hours but Marham didn't get above freezing all day! This morning the recently quiet airforce base reached -10C.

Strangely, the road salt lorry arrived in the village again today and topped up the bins they half filled yesterday. I'm sure it makes good sense to someone. We know where our bins are so they have been constructed from half round fence posts, which tend to blend into the background a little better than their dayglo cousins. 

Shelter from the salt, snow and slush

What's this, has North Pickenham Parish Council run out of funds to repair the rendering on the bus shelter or is this a new starter home initiative?

As you can see The Street is fairly clear with the gritted loop around the village with access to the A47 mainly just slushy but icy snow free. The pavements, though, give a clue to the state of the rest of our roads which today have a fresh sprinkle of snow on the compressed stuff, very slippery for man or machine.

All photos © J Reed

The council did kindly half fill our six or so salt bins today, which have been empty since before Christmas. Reminds me of Johnny Mathis singing with Denise Williams "Too much, too little, too late" for snow, salt and  time.