Saturday 12th July 2025 - Cooler and Restored Clock

It’s going to be a very much cooler day today.  I’m writing this mid-morning and already I’m missing the warmth of the sun. The other day, a media report stated we were in our third heatwave of the summer.  Heatwave, what heatwave?  Not here on the coast, to me it hasn’t felt like a heatwave – although quite a few nights it’s been 30°C in our bedroom.  But then I suppose it depends how you define a heatwave and your individual perspective on heat.  As far as individual perspectives concerned, some enjoy high temperatures, while others find this very hard to cope with.  I remember, (more years ago than I’m going to divulge here!) when I was obese and found anything above 20°C quite uncomfortable, seeking a shady place to sit or I retreated indoors.  All different now, I’m five stones lighter; I’m quite content to be out and about in the sun, while taking precautions to put on suncream and not stay out too long.  So, what constitutes a heatwave?  I found this definition on the internet - ‘According to the Met Office, an official heat wave in Britain is defined as three consecutive days during which temperatures reach or exceed a location-specific threshold.’  That left me with a further question, what is our location-specific threshold here in Norfolk?  According to the Met Office, it’s 27°C.  I now concede that yes, Norfolk has most likely experienced the heatwaves reported by the media but for us the breezes have made it feel cooler, whereas inland it’s probably been a bit on the sticky side.

Peter picks up the latest Crab Tales freebee magazine when we shop in Country Pickings in Mundesley.  The latest edition (Issue 315 11^th-24^th July) contains an interesting article, on page 6, covering the clock tower in the grounds of the Pleasaunce.   Although the tower was repainted and broken glass repaired a few years ago, the clock hasn’t been working for many years but thanks to volunteer Paul Roberson, it has now been fully restored.  Mr Roberson, lives in Mundesley and is Vice President of The British Horological Institute and a Board Member of the British Watch and Clockmakers Guild: he’s therefore well qualified to have taken on the restoration.  This morning and with a cloudy grey sky, I took the photo below of the tower and clock face.  It does look as though the tower is leaning, which of course it isn’t, but it was the best I could achieve standing on sloping ground and looking upwards.