Saturday 19th September - They're Back, Last Car Boot, Bottling, Sea Wall Repairs and Beach Walk

They’re back!  I am referring to the pink foot geese.  We haven’t seen them yet but I definitely heard them chatting away on Thursday (17^th).  Their arrival is earlier than last year (1^st October) and a little later than in 2023 and 2024 (14^th September).  After leaving their breeding grounds in Greenland, Iceland, Svalbard (archipelago of Norway) and Novaya Zemlya (archipelago of Russia) they fly to over winter in destinations within northern Europe. 

Thursday was the last car boot sale of the season.  With showers forecast, which did materialise, there weren’t many sellers.  I don’t imagine it will be long before the weekly Thursday coffee mornings in the pavilion resume, possibly the week after the Macmillan Cancer coffee morning on Friday 25^th, between 10.00 and 12.30.

Four years ago, our Williams pear tree produced so many fruits, I purchased some Kilner jars so I could bottle/can them before they went mushy.  Since then, the tree has set fruits but all bar a few have turned black and fallen off.  I think it could be pear midges which are behind the problem.  I did use a couple of the jars last year for cherry plums and the smaller ones come in handy for the mincemeat I make.  With no pears of our own, I was grateful, during the week, to receive a bag of Conferences.  I’ve bottled them and will try the first jar next week, these will top our breakfast Greek yoghurt.

After various dates, provided by NNDC, for the start on the repairs to the sea wall, the latest advice is; works will commence next week (from 21^st) after all the machinery has arrived.  We’ve heard a few comments about the works which seem to indicate the contractors, JN Bentley, have little or no experience on schemes in a marine environment.  I looked at the ‘Expertise’ page on their website; this extends to various sectors but not marine.  It could be their website has not been updated to include marine works but it could also be; Overstrand will be their first.   

We enjoyed a pleasant walk, litter picking on the beach towards Cromer this morning.  Here we saw people exercising their dogs and with a low tide and long stretched of sand, this was perfect for letting their pets enjoying some freedom, off the lead.  On our way back, walking near the water’s edge, we saw a male grey seal resting, nose up.  It dipped down and then continued to re-appear as we strolled along the sand.   In places the revetements have taken a real bashing from the sea, leaving broken sections and some lengths of wood eroded so badly, it won’t be long before they break and detach from the main frame.  As an example, I took a photo of a broken section which features as today’s photo.