Its a strange world...

... when a man, over paid because he can kick a ball around, who is betrothed to a lingerie model, even though he resembles a stick insect, still can't keep it in his shorts and feels the need to pay for sex. The same inability to count one's blessings could be said about our local 'celebrity' who achieved every working man's dream of winning the lottery. King of chavs lotto lout Michael Carroll has finally sold his Swaffham pile as part of his bankruptcy, announced on 18th February this year, after blowing all the £9,736,131 National Lottery win of November 2002. 

Before Carroll

After Carroll

The house is a mess, as you can see, and has been snapped up for £142,000. That is £200,00 less than he paid for it and doesn't allow for the estimated £400,000 spent extending it and fitting an indoor swimming pool. Michael recently applied to get his old bin-man job back and says he is now much happier. 

Money doesn't buy happiness, it seems.

Swaffham Streets in Summer Spate

The sky darkened, car lights were turned on and then the five minute deluge began.

It appeared that the drains were not to cope but within fifteen minutes, except for some flooded hollows, the streets were virtually clear of the temporary sluices.

All photos © J Reed

Bazaar Bag Ban

Swaffham's historic Saturday market is to stop the handing out of plastic bags with your purchases, in an initiative from Breckland Council and Advance Swafham, from May 29th 2010. 

Norfolk Tourism

The next step would be to ape Modbury in Devon, the first plastic bag free town, and Aylsham in Norfolk who went plastic free in 2008. Most plastic bags take decades to degrade in land fill sites, although Co-op degradable bags disappear in 3 years, with the supermarkets as keen to save money on free disposable bags as saving the planet.