We’re fast approching July. Fakenham Fair and the associated Pub & Club Festival are at the end of August. Won’t be long now!

I recently created a couple of websites for those two ‘happenings’ - pop along to www.fakenhamfair.co.uk and www.plubfest.co.uk to keep up to speed with what’s being planned.

If you’re a trader who’d like a stall at Fakenham Fair, you’d better book up now – I’ve been reliably informed that the number of booked stalls has already reached last year’s total. The Carnival Procession is being planned as we speak and bookings are being taken for that too. Get in quick if you’re a business or local organization who wants to be in the procession. You’ll find the appropriate entry documents for download on the site.

As for Fakenham Plubfest, we’ve had a pretty good response from the town’s ‘boozers’ – there are just two or three pubs who haven’t quite made up their minds yet, and just one social club which is yet to respond – I’d class that as a bit of a success. We have the Prize Draw all but sorted – the ticksheets are on the website to download, the venues’ ink and stamps are ready to go and some nice prizes have already been donated. Almost good to go!

The Running Horse – Fakenham. 

The Morning Advertiser, a pub trade news website, is running this story about the recent spate of ‘new build’ pubs Marstons are opening. The article states that Fakenham’s Running Horse is one of those already open, which I don’t think is actually true, but the pub will be trading soon enough.

The new pub, near the football ground and therefore set to become ‘my local’, will probably be hoping to take custom from Fakenham’s Hungry Horse - a similar kind of pub in that it sells cheapish mass-market food to families (possibly one difference is the Marstons pub will sell cask ale where the Henry IV didn’t the last time I looked). I guess Marstons’ long-term plan takes into account the fact that the town’s population will be increasing due to the number of new houses which will be built over the next few years. However, I’m also guessing that they’ll need to work hard to attract custom at the start – Fakenham’s pubs already struggle to attract people, especially early in the week. One more pub in the town means that punters will be spread even more thinly than they are at the moment.

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?

 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!

What do you reckon to this story in today’s EDP? Marston’s are a large Staffordshire-based brewery and pub company (they have over 1700 pubs across the UK). They own the Wychwood, Jennings, Banks’s, Brakspeare and Ringwood beer brands as well as high-street ‘cooking-lager’ brands  like Carlsberg, Stella Artois, Carling and Fosters.

They’re apparently looking at opening a bar & restaurant in the Clipbush Lane area, close to the proposed Health Centre complex.

Do we need it? Is an edge-of-town site good for our town?

Am I obsessed with food and drink lately? Maybe I am, but this is no time to go into denial – there’s some Fakenham food & drink blogging to be done…

A new restaurant is about to open in Newmans Yard, off Norwich Street. D’Inacios Brasserie will serve its first dishes next Wednesday (5th May). Coffees during the day in the courtyard (don’t you just love that wisteria?) with a la carte lunches and a sophisticated-sounding menu in the evenings.

Intriguingly, the leaflet I was just handed in town says, “Fine Wines, Ales & Food”, so it’ll be interesting to see how they approach their beer menu. You’re advised to book – their number’s 01328 851247. Tell ‘em you saw it here on the Fakenham Blog and I may be able to blag some kind of discount when I drop in to check them out

The Hourglass (formerly known as The Horse & Groom) in Sculthorpe is set between the village street and the main A148, with lots of parking space. We’d booked a table for four at 7pm and when we arrived there were four diners already enjoying a meal – however it’s quite a big pub-restaurant and the place looked deserted!

The contemporary decor is attractively minimalist, with cream paintwork and tasteful canvases on the wall. Very clean-and-sharp-looking but not too much ‘character’ for what I assume is quite an old building. I like it though. The landlord is friendly and attentive and after a round of drinks was ordered (the Woodforde’s Wherry was in decent nick but the only other ale choice was Bombadier) we were shown to our table.

For starters we chose whitebait, vegetable risotto and blue cheese mushrooms. They didn’t take very long to arrive and were all delicious. Our main courses were rump steaks with chips & mushrooms, rump of lamb on a spinach & potato bed and pork ribs with BBQ sauce & chips. All were absolutely excellent fare – the dishes could simply not be faulted. The ribs were tender and tasty – loads of them too. One of our group remarked that it was the most tender rump steak he’d had! Can’t be bad, can it?

So… all told very good indeed. The choice of beer was a tad dull and predictable but of decent quality. The food was lovely and the surroundings and staff were great. Recommended.

The local press are reporting that nationwide pub chain JD Wetherspoon are considering opening an outlet in Fakenham. A company spokesperson apparently denied they had looked at The Crown, which remains empty in the town centre, but had viewed another location.

OK – it’s sweepstake time! Any ideas as to the premises they’re considering? Could it be a takeover of The Hungry Horse? Could it be the old Godfrey DIY building by the town sign? Possibly the ex-Learning Centre premises?

Your thoughts and comments are welcome.

With all the effort going on to boost the town’s image, it’s a crying shame that The Crown Hotel in the Market Square remains closed. It’s currently owned by London property developers Wildmoor who, I believe, purchased the building from the previous owners – who then leased it back from the company and remained as managers. After a short while, the managers opted out of the lease and the pub has been closed since March 2009.

I know somebody (a client) who has just looked round the property with a view to taking the lease on. We’d been talking about the town in general some time before Christmas and the subject had got on to pubs (how strange, I hear you say!). I mentioned the fact that Kick Start Fakenham was originally interested in the re-opening of The Star. We came to the conclusion that The Crown was in a great location and could be run as a going concern given the right circumstances - and would considerably enhance the town centre if it was open again.

My client’s viewing of the property had made it obvious that lots of work needed doing to get the place running. The bar area had been previously renovated, taking away much of of the character of this 18th century building (including the original fireplace). The kitchens needed replacing. The rooms upstairs needed work. Sounds like £££s of investment are required to get things up to scratch.

I wonder if Wildmoor have the foresight to see that The Crown isn’t actually a great investment as things stand. The lease, as advertised here at £60,000 a year seems more than a tad overpriced if the intention was to get a tenant in quickly. No wonder it’s still unoccupied. Maybe it would be a better investment if the owners were willing to sell the building on again.

Any local entrepreneurs looking for a project? Drop me a line and I’ll put you in touch with my client – who might be interested in joint ownership rather than leasing it (if the owners are willing to sell, that is)!

We went to a wine sampling last week. My wife and I were asked over by a friend in Fakenham who said that he’d answered an online ad to get a free gift in return for an hour’s tasting session. The idea was to try half a dozen different wines before being invited to order a case of them.

When we arrived the rep was already there, armed with two small suitcase-type boxes full of reds and whites. After being asked about the types of wine we normally preferred, we were offered shot-sized plastic glasses, a third filled with three whites and three reds from various countries.

The rep, who was very pleasant and not at all pushy, described each of them in turn before we sampled them. He seemed reasonably knowledgeable, although came out with some marketing-talk which was a bit dodgy. He said that as the wine contained no additives it would keep fresh after opening for several weeks. Also, he insisted that you wouldn’t get a hangover by drinking them (again a refence to their lack of impurities). I took both those statements with a large pinch of salt, but still promised myself to judge the wine purely on merit. 

How did they taste? They were nice enough (except for one red which I couldn’t bring myself to finish). Trouble was, they cost from around £9 to £15 a bottle plus VAT and to me, they seemed to be no better than a bottle you can pick up in Tesco for a fiver! This was emphasised by the fact that when the rep had left (heading for an appointment in North Park – sadly, without selling us any wine) we shared a bottle of supermarket red which was every bit as good as any of the samples we’d just tasted!

For your info, the winery is called Pieroth, a German company with their UK arm based in Luton. The rep covers a wide area across North Norfolk, so if you’re interested look them up (their free gift – a desktop ‘weather station’ looked useful). Thanks to Graham for the interesting invite -and the very tasty supermarket plonk!