There’s a story running on the BBC about one of Fakenham’s takeaway restaurants. Spice Heaven had been painted in bright Norwich FC -like colours and officials from North Norfolk District Council think that “the whole elevation in this yellow colour is a little too much“.  Owner Raj Khan had wanted it to “stand out a bit” and I reckon he succeeded, albeit with a bit of a backfire.

I’m reminded of the old Chinese curse: “May you come to the attention of those in authority.”

In my opinion, it’s a tad bright but not too bad really. My office is in Norwich Street too, so I pass it twice a day – and it didn’t take long for me to get used to it. Nice bit of PR for the owner though – well done Raj. At least something good has come out of the fuss!

I wonder how the aforementioned NNDC official would view “THAT PINK HOUSE” in Lenwade.  It’s one of my personal favourites (for all the wrong reasons) and I reckon it puts this little dispute in perspective!

I can’t wait for Christmas and the outstanding display of naff house decorations we tend to get these days. I’ll try to snap some of the finest examples for this site!

Tomorrow sees the annual Firework Display at Fakenham Racecourse. The Chamber of Trade will be running the show, aided as always by the presenters of North Norfolk Radio. Gates will open at 5.00pm for the funfair and the main display will be at 6.30pm. Tickets on the gate are £5 per person (walking) and £15 per car (max 5 persons).

Kickstart Fakenham are organizing an Autumn Tidy Up on Saturday 14th November. Meet up at 10am in the Market Square, where you’ll get your litter-pickers and possibly some natty fluorescent tabards! We attended the last one which was a good fun couple of hours. Bring some friends and have a laugh whilst doing some useful clearing up. Maybe this time we’ll have a side-bet on who collects the weirdest bit of junk!

It’s that time of year again – the Norwich Beer Festival is held every October at St. Andrews & Blackfriars Hall, this year (the 32nd annual event) it runs from 26th to 31st of the month.

With over 200 cask-conditioned ales from independent brewers across the UK, a wide selection of draught and bottled foreign beers and 25 kinds of cider & perry to try, it’s a great place to visit. It’s become a bit of an annual pilgrimage for our family and there’ll be at least half a dozen of us in attendance on Monday. Always a friendly atmosphere there – it gets jam-packed but there’s never any bother. Everybody’s too engrossed in tasting the ale!

The next Kickstart Fakenham meeting has been set for Thursday October 22nd at 7pm in the Wensum Lodge, Fakenham. There is an open invitation for anybody to come along and see what’s being done for the town by the group and make suggestions & contributions.

The basic agenda (subject to change) is as follows:
Committee announcements and prospective changes.
Formation of Carnival Committee/other Carnival Business.
Forthcoming events including Autumn Tidy Up and Christmas Lights event.
KSF Website & Logo.
Top of the Shops.
Any other business.

… pass it on!

The 2009 Firework Display at Fakenham Racecourse is on 7th November. Gates will open at 5.00pm for the funfair and the main display will be at 6.30pm. This year, the Chamber of Trade (who run the event) are supporting the Help for Heroes charity.

Advance Tickets available at…

Lawnwise and Leisure – 01328 851251
Carl Lake Butchers (Holt & Fakenham)
Martins Newsagents, Wells
Burnham Motors Garage, Burnham Market
Mileham Post Office
Melton Constable Co-op
The Eye Man – 01328 855051

A subject close to my heart – beer. Lager to be more precise – and Norfolk Pilsener lager to be even more preciser. Norfolk brewer Uncle Stuarts at Wroxham Barns have just brewed an authentic-style Pilsener which they hope will attract lager drinkers to their products.

I’m not sure it’ll appeal to the majority of lagerites, as I’m guessing the flavour may be a little too challenging for them – the major brands available in the UK are bland and characterless compared to craft beer. However, I’d like to try some (even though I usually prefer darker ales) as it’s probably a quality brew. I’ll look for it when I next visit The Real Ale Shop in Wells.

Read the whole story at the EDP website