This cartoon struck a chord. BBC News is really getting on my nerves these days. Channel 4 News covers issues much more in-depth without resorting to the descent into ‘That’s Life’ (remember that?) style street interviews. Look East is a big culprit in that respect – go into a local town and ask random passers by what they think, ideally showing their complete ignorance of the subject. We KNOW what we think. Hearing what selected other people think or don’t know isn’t going to change our views. We just want to see a report about the issue and know something’s being done about it (or not, as the case may be).

Another thing… Why do we have to vote on TV programs and phone into everything? I know they make money out of our calls, but I thought we paid these guys to make our entertainment for us – they’re supposed to be good at it and shouldn’t be getting ignoramuses (ignorami ?)  like me to contribute to their output.

Oh yeh… Breakfast on the BBC. Why has it become a vehicle for overrated pop stars, actors and authors to peddle their latest outpourings? Why, also, does it insist on promoting other TV programs all the time?

More and more lazy journalism. I dislike it intensely. Bring back news and abolish ‘infotainment’. It’s making people dumber (with apologies to all people who dislike the increasing use of the antithetical Americanism ‘smarter’, meaning more intelligent).

Rant over… for now

The Chamber of Trade’s Bonfire Night Colouring Competition attracted around 1200 entries from various local schools. When judging was over, they had the great idea of brightening up one of the town’s empty shops by plastering them inside the windows.

I think they look brilliant!

I was contacted by local poet and campaigner Vince Laws who’s organising this upcoming event …

Candlelit Vigil Against Hate Crime. Held on Lifeboat Plain in Sheringham on Saturday 23 October, from 7.30pm, with 2 minutes silence at 8pm, to coincide with vigils in Toronto, London, Brighton and Norwich.  Guest speaker in Sheringham is The Chief Executive of North Norfolk District Council, Philip Burton.

“No one should have to suffer violence or abuse for being themselves.”

Bring a jam jar and a candle and show your support (meet in Oddfellows Hall if wet)

So that you can get some background info, the main London event in Trafalgar Square is detailed here on the Gay News website. The International Day against Hate Crime (Facebook page here) was founded by Mark Healey in 2009 in the lead up to the 10th Anniversary of the nail bomb attacks aimed at London’s black, Bangladeshi and gay communities.

Although I spread my custom round several eateries in town, this is my favourite sandwich shop in Fakenham – Fresh4You in Millers Walk. I invariably pop in at least a couple of times a week for a sarnie for my lunch or a late breakfast and a cuppa. The reason I like it? Because it’s always spotlessly clean and eye-wideningly bright. The staff are always pleasant and helpful too – once I dropped a cup of tea on the way out and it seemed as if I’d actually done them a favour, they were so dismissive of the mess I’d created!

This is ‘on the record’, folks: I would heartily recommend their bacon baguettes – they’re scrumptious. The standard ones at £2.99 have 4 rashers inside, which is complete bacon-overkill (being a wuss, I can’t cope with that so opt for a 2-slice version). Their coffee machine looks like the Starship Enterprise dashboard, but produces the perfect Americano although I’ve cut down on coffee and usually get a Fairtrade tea – a really nice cup of Rosie. Overall, 10 out of 10.  Take note, other shop owners…. this is exactly how to do it!

See you in there?

They’ve been busy down at the community centre, refurbishing the bar area. Wow. What an improvement! It’s now a tastefully decorated and welcoming place – the lighting is bright but in a way that doesn’t look unfriendly or garish. The colours are muted and clean looking. It’s so much better than before – the committee and all those involved have reason to be proud of their efforts.

There are other parts of the building which need refurb work and repairs – and that is being scheduled as we speak. In the meantime, a temporary entrance will make sure the newly-finished bar area remains open for business. It’s a great start, as these photos from their open evening tonight will hopefully show..

I see the church tower is having a few problems. The Parish Church is a prominent landmark in Fakenham and a major contributor to life in the town. So… I think it deserves a bit of support by attending the ‘Headline News in Flowers’ Flower Festival in October and donating a few bob. Details are in this Fakenham & Wells Times article…

Just in case you weren’t aware – If you were planning an event in the Fakenham Community Centre, you’d better know… 

If you’re a Facebook user, you may have noticed that new posts on my blog haven’t been making their expected appearance on my FB wall. It’s because a WordPress plugin called Wordbook had died. It just decided to stop working for no apparent reason.

I’ve now installed a different plugin which should do the same job, plus a little more. Wordbooker is its name and I’ll have a play with that one now. If you’re reading this on FB, it actually works!!!

This blog was first started at the beginning of October 2009, coming up to a year ago. I thought it would provide me with a way to promote the town with a more personal touch, as well as being a vehicle for my interest in WordPress. You may remember that it evolved from the site at FakenhamWeb.co.uk which has now been ‘retired’ after running since 1999.

I looked at my webstats today and was genuinely surprised at the figures I saw (I haven’t been keeping track of the stats as it isn’t a business site). I didn’t realise it was quite as popular as the numbers suggest…

It started off with 258 visitors in its first month and that has been increasing steadily. During August 2010, it had 772 unique visitors, resulting in an amazing average of 80 visits a day!

The stats throw up some weird and wonderful search phrases being used to find the site. I wonder who it was who used Google to search for “how do i meet men from swanton morley barracks” and surely the person looking for “free wine samples” was getting a bit desperate!

However, despite the blog’s apparent popularity, the story is still the same as I found on the old website… NOBODY WANTS TO CONTRIBUTE! Apart from one post where people got involved and discussed the town at great length, the comments are very few and far between.  Are you shy?

 Creake Abbey Farmers’ Market has won first place in the prestigious Eastern Daily Press Norfolk Food Awards.  The monthly market at North Creake, attached to Creake Abbey Studios, came first in the dedicated  Farmers’ Market section.

The judges said “A fantastic location in north Norfolk with an idyllic setting. This market offers an abundance of locally produced and sourced food products and gifts. The stall holders are only too pleased to share their passion and knowledge and there are lots of opportunities to try before you buy with well presented stalls“.

The market is held on the first Saturday of each month (except in January). Around 30 stall holders attend, with fresh local meat, produce, cheeses, cakes, bread, preserves, ales, juices and plants.  They’re holding a ‘Christmas Shopping Feast’ on 4th December – sounds like it’s well worth a visit!

With  Creake Abbey Farmers’ Market on 1st Saturday and the Fakenham Farmers’ Market being held on the 4th Saturday of nearly every month, our area’s well served. We have few excuses for not being able to buy quality local produce whenever we need it!