Wednesday 3rd June 2026 - Guided Walks, Cuttings & Hanging Baskets, Waste of Money and Japanese Knotweed (again!)

Tim Bennett is once again leading guided walks through the village.  A few years ago, we went on his walk, covering the village’s boys and men who were involved in World War 1.  The walk complemented Tim’s published book ‘Overstrand in the Great War’.  Since then, he’s researched further into Overstrand’s past and it won’t be long before his second book will be available to purchase.  Tim’s latest walks, will provide a visual experience, covering his researches.  We have booked our places and are looking forward to learning more about Overstrand’s history.  The dates for June’s walks are on the poster below.  Spaces are limited, so make sure you book in advance.

Yesterday afternoon, Overstrand Gardening Club’s Chairlady, Yvonne provided an informative talk, covering taking cuttings and creating a hanging basket.  It was interesting to hear plant breeders are developing flowering plants which don’t produce seed and bloom for a longer period.  The variety of geum ‘Totally Tangerine’ was quoted as an example.  There were handy tips on planting up baskets and one lucky member won Yvonne’s completed basket, in the raffle.  There will be no formal meeting in July.  Instead, members will be treated to a guided walk around Felbrigg Hall’s walled garden.

The District Council have posted, on Pauls Lane car park, a planning application for the ‘Erection of Freestanding Multi Touch Screen Poster (Local tourist attractions, accommodation etc plus train times)’.  Full details of its location and what it will probably look like can be found on NNDC’s website.  Comments made by villagers are all the same – a waste of money and tourists will look up the information they require on their phones.  This week there has been installation activity on the car park but this does not appear to be for the touch screen poster.  Could it be charging points for electric vehicles?  If this is the case, drivers will not only have to pay for the electric but the parking fee too.

Despite the District Council spraying the Japanese Knotweed, growing on the cliff, with weed killer earlier this year – it’s thriving!  The Council posted photos, on their Facebook page, covering the spraying but was it weedkiller they used?  Judging by the prolific growth, see photo below, perhaps they used fertilizer by mistake!