www.alerter.co.uk

Driving hints by Mike Daniels
Dip Di Consultant for Driving to the Corporate Industry

Do you remember many years ago when you may have been struggling to master the steering whilst learning to drive, perhaps your most difficult technique until the reverse around the corner came along, did the steering feel as if it was elastic – problems with getting straight once you turned the corner.

The wheel may have been big and thin, very hard to turn with no power steering. The drivers in those days needed to pull down on the wheel to create large movements to get the car to turn. We were all told to keep the hands at ten to two position on the wheel to make it easier to turn. But now we have much more modern cars with all sorts of power steering, electric and oil controlled.

The steering wheels are smaller the rim is thicker and made of leather or high grade plastics so the leverage to turn is not as great.

So why not revise our hand position and place them at quarter to three, we will call it a pistol grip. The thumbs over the centre spokes of the wheel and fingers placed around the rear of the spokes. By doing this you can flex your fingers more and reach the controls, such as dip switch, indicators stack without releasing the steering wheel and also roll the thumb towards centre of the wheel to access the horn (if placed in centre of wheel). By taking a lower grip there is less tension in the upper arms and shoulders this will reduce aches and pains and fatigue.

By doing this you will become more airbag friendly. The quarter to three position, your arms already being at their widest point, so they will be pushed aside as the airbag inflates.

There is a possibility, as the thumbs are around the wheel, damage could occur, so I do recommend rolling the thumbs outside the wheel rim if impact is unavoidable.

When working within the corporate industry I do say the pull/push method is useful at low speed manoeuvres, but again using full part of the wheel and not shuffle art of steering is a major subject.

What about rotational steering or fixed input steering which the Lewis Hamilton’s of today use, or palming by placing the palm of the hand flat on the rim of steering wheel and use the friction between palm and wheel and turn wheel quickly with one hand? NOT A SKILL to be taught to road drivers but one we advise when teaching security forces performing anti hijack manoeuvres.

Also steering/throttle relationships or steering/brakes relationships, remember always to be accurate and smooth, a badly timed movement at high speed can result in catastrophic consequences.

Steering is the most important driving skill, this can be noticed between a good driver and a great driver.

Always search to the horizon, lift the vision and focus where you would like the car to go, and eye co-ordination will take you there, this vision adjustment will allow more time to plan and work out where the car will be in fifteen seconds time, don’t forget at 60 mph the car is travelling 88 feet per second.

So fifteen seconds you will cover 440 yards.

So match your speed with your vision.

A vital factor for overall safety is smooth and accurate steering.

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National Gardens Scheme - Gayton Garden Trail

The Earl & Countess of Romney begin the National Gardens Scheme Gayton open garden trail on Sunday 29th March at Gayton Hall, six miles east of Kings Lynn, just off the B1145. This well-established, 20 acre woodland garden is laced with streams and ponds, bordered by stunning moisture-loving plants and spring bulbs. It is typical of the gardens that one would associate with the history of the National Gardens Scheme when visitors paid a shilling for entrance. The days when the visitors could have been characters from Pride and Prejudice! The admission is still only a nominal amount.

It is a fine example of the NGS community spirit, which has inspired three new gardens in the Gayton parishes to open for the charity this season. The local NGS team have encouraged gardens to open as a group where possible throughout the county to give the visitor a variety of gardens to visit and a good value day out. It is the formation of clusters of open gardens that has become a trend in the National Gardens Scheme across the counties. As village open gardens used to attract the local community, now visitors travel from further afield with the Yellow Book, the garden lover’s bible. As well as donating to the NGS, funds are also raised for the local communities.

Lady Romney said "The name Gayton was originally derived from the word "Guy" associated with springs of which the garden has many, the water flowing west to eventually meet the Great River Ouse at Kings Lynn. Every year the garden has new vistas and paths as well as many new trees and shrubs to create further interest in the garden. Although we have been the only one to open for many years there are many lovely gardens in our Gayton parishes. I hope that people will take the opportunity to come and enjoy the garden and the new NGS Gayton gardens whilst supporting the worthwhile charities of the National Gardens Scheme."

Mr & Mrs Peter Grant open Spinney Lodge on April 19th. Its name is derived from a spinney, the small circular woodland area at the front of the property. Peter is a hands-on gardener who trained as an agricultural scientist at The Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester. There are several of his ideas and constructions including a Victorian raised bed vegetable garden with an automatic irrigation system; a gazebo and summer house; a board walk beside a trout pond adjacent to the river sourced from Gayton Hall and other water features. However his and Myra’s gardening expertise is gained from experience unlike his sister Judith McNeil Wilson who is a trained horticulturist (Chestnut Farm, West Beckham, open August 16th). It can be seen that the two gardens are quite different in design and gardening methods!

Alistair Beales, farm manager at Gayton Hall, opens at Manor Farmhouse, Gayton in conjunction with Julian and Sarah Kerkham at Great Barn Farm, Gayton Thorpe on Sunday 14th June. Both owners are hands-on farmers and it is unusual to find those who spend their working life in agriculture, to be also good gardeners!
Great Barn Farm garden is named after its historic barn reported to be one of the largest of its kind in traditional Norfolk design. The garden is the interest of Sarah following in the footsteps of her mother, on farming land with livery stables. Sarah is developing the garden to represent her individual interests, the garden undergoing a transitional period.

Visit your local Tourist information Centre or garden centre to pick up a Norfolk 2009 leaflet or visit www.norfolkgardens.org and follow the Norfolk National Gardens Scheme garden trail. If your garden is of high quality, character and at least forty five minutes interest contact County Organiser Fiona Black to discuss opening your garden or recommend a friend’s garden! Tel 01692 650247.

For NGS enthusiasts, sign up to become a Friend of the NGS and receive newsletters, discounts on NGS events and promotional offers. Purchase The Yellow Book 2009 and join for free!

GAYTON HALL Gayton PE32 1PL
Open 29 March (12 – 5).
Adm £4, with chd free, (share to St Nicholas church). A 20-acre water garden, streams and bridges, lawns, woodland, lakes, with over 2m of paths. It has many unusual trees and shrubs, with spring bulbs and autumn colour and traditional and waterside borders with primulas, astilbes, hostas, lysichitums, gunneras and many more. 6m E of King's Lynn. On B1145; R on B1153. R down Back St 1st entrance on L. Home-made teas.

NEW - SPINNEY LODGE, Winch Road, Gayton PE32 1QP.
Open Sun 19 April (11-4).
Adm £3.50, chd free. Approx 2-acre smallholding transformed by owners in 8 yrs into landscaped gardens with existing unusual trees and shrubs. Bounded with stream and divided into formal and informal areas with shrubbery, boardwalk with large wildlife pond, woodland walk and a Victorian raised bed vegetable garden. Home-made teas. WC. 6m E of King's Lynn. R at Winch Road, 200yds on R past Back Street junction. Blue badge parking only, all others at Bridge House, Winch Road as signed.

NEW - GREAT BARN FARM, Gayton Thorpe PE32 1PN
Open Sun 14 June (12-5).
Adm £4 (share to Gayton Thorpe PCC). Combined with Manor Farm. Established farmhouse garden going through transitional phase with long established herbaceous borders and kitchen garden. Fruit cage and small orchard area. Newly planted low maintenance bed for year round interest. Established pond and patio. Children's lawn. Woodland garden with den. Child friendly. Limited wheelchair access, some gravel paths. Moderately sloping garden. Home-made teas. 7m E of King's Lynn. On B1145, R onto B1153, 1st L to Gayton Thorpe, continue through village towards B1145, last house on L

NEW - MANOR FARMHOUSE Gayton PE32 1QR
Open Sun 14 June (12-5).
Adm £4, chd free. combined with Great Barn Farm. Colourful cottage garden created in 2001 on ½-acre plot ruined by major building work to house. Small gravel garden added 2002, courtyard garden and conservatory 2006. Garden changes constantly as owner progresses from non gardener to garden fanatic. Gravel paths, ramps provided on steps. Home-made teas 6m E of King's Lynn. Signed from B1145 and B1153.

www.norfolkgardens.org

www.ngs.org.uk

A recent survey of six thousand children is reported as saying that nearly nine out of ten of them are anxious about violence and street crime and called for extra policing in parks and places where children play on their way to and from school.

It found 54% feared violence, 53% crime and 51% said they were anxious about war. There were just 11% who had no such worries. Half of those surveyed worried about their parents arguing, 48% about their health and 40% about being poor. 83% said they would walk to school and 78% would play in parks if they were safe. 63% agreed there should be an emergency number to call when they felt unsafe.

How meaningful can such figures be? - Ought they to be taken seriously? - Was the survey taken in a congested Urban or a quiet Rural Area? - Were the children all from the same age group? - When they say they are anxious, do they mean frightened or just concerned? - Perhaps we should be told how these children were selected? The answers from a six year old would be expected to differ greatly from those of a teenager!

The Hints and Hobbies series was a bizarre and eclectic mix of handy hints shown to inter-war cinemagoers. The range of advice given in this edition varies from good, sensible and practical advice on how to treat a fracture from the capable Mrs Webb of the St John's Ambulance Brigade, to the more obscure, yet intriguing, way of how to supplement your rent; improbably, in true Blue Peter style, by making vases for dried flowers out of cardboard and cretonne. Cretonne?... Presumably it's as elusive to find as sticky-backed plastic.

By far the most wonderful sequence (shown here) is advice on how to be the perfect husband. A nervous middle-class London wife opens and presents a series of bills for hats and outfits from fashionable Knightsbridge shops to her husband. He studies them carefully, and sweetly reassures her that her purchases are most reasonable and that she really should have bought two costumes at such economical prices! (Sharon Messenger)

This male sparrowhawk caught a blackbird in my garden and spent the next thirty minutes plus devouring it under the hedge. The camera was handheld and the video shot through a closed window; the footage is unedited. - maggotsapple

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16th – 19th July 2009
Henham Park Estate, Southwold, Suffolk

www.latitudefestival.co.uk

The pioneering, award-winning Latitude Festival returns to England’s Sunrise Coast for another spectacular year. Taking place on 16th – 19th July, near Suffolk’s stunning sea-side town of Southwold, organisers Festival Republic are promising Latitude will be the perfect British summer destination.

The open-air Obelisk Arena has been the stage of some epic performances over the past three years and Latitude 2009 will be no different. Lay out your picnic blanket, bask in the sunshine and get down to some of the best music around.

The impressive structure of the tented Uncut Arena houses an eclectic line-up of alternative, leftfield music; a hotbed of genre-spanning artists all offering something unique.

Take a stroll through Latitude’s fairytale woods with art exhibited within the trees and dappled sunlight shining through the leaves and you will stumble across the most exquisite space of all; the Sunrise Arena, home to tomorrow’s biggest stars.

With the shimmering lake as a stunning backdrop The Lake Stage is an open air hub of rising stars handpicked by Radio 1 DJ and new music aficionado, Huw Stephens. A place for discovery and recognition The Lake Stage brings you the freshest new acts before they even register on the radar of the music press.

Latitude’s vast appeal is in its dedication to diversity; continuously offering wonderful line-ups from the world of the creative arts. Across seven separate arenas, as well as making use of the stunning woods and lake, the most gifted and exciting comics, film-makers, visual artists, poets, authors, actors, directors and dancers around will be coming to Latitude. The Comedy, Poetry, Literary, Theatre, Music & Film, Dance and Cabaret Arenas are hotbeds of cultural experiences and fun waiting to stimulate all of your senses.



With the involvement of the country’s leading theatre companies, Latitude has established itself as one of the best theatre festivals in Europe. An auditorium has been specially designed to perfectly present a full schedule of contemporary, physical, classical, performance and local productions bespoke to the festival. Not to be contained within the confines of the stage, theatre can be found around every corner at Latitude, emerging from the woods, performed on the banks of the lake as well as the Theatre Arena, drawing inspiration from the surroundings. There’s something for everyone so take a chance on an unknown play or watch a critic’s choice at Latitude 2009.



At last year’s festival, Latitude unveiled the beautiful stage on the lake. People crammed onto the banks to sit and witness fantastic dance and performances throughout the weekend as gondolas rode by and the lake sparkled in the sun. Renamed The Waterfront, this year the stage will once again showcase contemporary, modern dance from the world’s leading companies and choreographers.

After performing with Björk, Jarvis Cocker and Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. amongst others, the UK’s famous beatboxer Shlomo is bringing his ‘vocal orchestra’ to Latitude Festival. The current resident artist at the Southbank Centre together with other seven incredible musicians form the fabulous Shlomo & The Vocal Orchestra, the world’s only Beatbox Choir, a jaw-dropping show that will leave you stunned by the abilities of human voice.

Latitude celebrates the art of the written word and all its many splendid facets at Suffolk’s now legendary library by the sea. Like all good books, the Literary Arena will transport you to the far reaches of your imagination guided by the storytelling talents of the very best authors and special guests scheduled for the weekend. Discussions, Q&As, stories and comic genius are the order of the day for these book readings with a difference. Immerse yourself in Latitude’s literary world and learn, explore, laugh and discover at the best literary event of the summer. 



Positioned enticingly by the banks of the lake at the entrance to the main festival arena, Latitude’s perfectly placed Poetry Arena is a wonderful den of distraction. Curious passers-by are pulled inside by barrels of raucous laughter, pensive silences and fascinated faces, all transfixed by the raconteurs on stage. People find themselves camped out there all day, relaxing in the shade and enjoying a continuous line-up of the very best in comedy sketches, slam poets, spoken word, storytelling, rappers and much, much more. With a full schedule running throughout the whole weekend, Latitude welcomes the following funny, satirical, hard-hitting, absurd, bizarre and witty poets to the largest poetry event in Europe.

Uniting alternative worlds of cinematic wonder, musical splendour and visual brilliance, the Music & Film Arena is an exhilarating and intoxicating centre of creativity. Over the festival weekend the Arena will play host to screenings of award winning films, documentaries and shorts with Q&A sessions plus discussions with acclaimed directors and writers. These will be interspersed with musical treats and stunning, transfixing visuals combining together to create a seductive, sensory playground for all ages. 



Welcome to the biggest and best comedy festival in Britain positioned on the hill overlooking the luscious landscape of the Latitude site. The Comedy Arena is one of the biggest draws of the weekend; bursting at the seams with people as they sit back and enjoy the stellar stand up performances from the cream of the comedy circuit. A programme of the biggest names and the newest rising talent will ensure continuous laughter throughout the weekend.




If you want to experience something entirely different then seek out Latitude’s quirky den of mischief and mayhem; the Cabaret Arena. Inside you will witness comedy sketch shows, burlesque, freak shows, drag queens, sing-a-longs, illusionists and much, much more to be announced. With Vaudeville fun, sharp, incisive wit, camp entertainment and a good ol’ fashioned knees up, the Cabaret Arena positively encourages you to leave your inhibitions at the door and be game for anything and everything. This surreal bordello of surprises and spectacular stage shows is visually rich, beautiful and bizarre and will tempt and titillate in equal measure. 



The enchanted woods of Henham Park also have something to offer as art decorates the trees and fairy lights hang from the branches. Exploring the lush foliage and following where curiosity takes you, you will chance upon new experiences, little surprises and terrific treats at every turn.

This dedicated Children’s Arena is as diverse as the rest of the festival, where kids can enjoy books, art, music, theatre, heaps of participation and fun with the added opportunity to take something away, from circus skills to handmade crafts to an appreciation of the woodland setting and the nature within it. Local children’s organisations provide activities like hula-hooping, face-painting, story-telling, nature trails and wildlife walks as well as putting on plays, puppet shows and even a parade. The whole place is a giant playground for kids and parents alike not found anywhere else. With so much on offer for all the family, Latitude is the place for all generations. 




www.alerter.co.uk

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We know it's short notice, but if you run a business in Waveney or are thinking about setting one up we would love you to come along to our event.

It's a research session, run and facilitated by professional researchers, designed to surface the barriers and challenges relating running a business in the area.

Do you feel you are getting the support that you need? Are you listened to?

Please come along and share your views. We have also invited a number of Leaders from across Suffolk who are hoping to listen and learn from your experience.

The event is on Tuesday 24th March at the Royal Norfolk and Suffolk Yacht Club from 6:30 - 8:30. Hopefully see you there.

Becky Rowe
Research Director
ESRO Ltd.
www.esro.co.uk

e: becky.rowe@esro.co.uk
t: +44 (0)208 980 9981
m: +44 (0)7894 352596

Whether you are an experienced grower of your own vegetable crop or hesitating about taking the plunge, this film, hosted by the “Sustainable Beccles” group is highly recommended viewing.

Described as “a most astounding documentary” it shows in a dramatic way, how the Cuban people overcame the threat of starvation in the 1990s’ by cultivating every available patch of land on their island including the digging up of car parks. Faced with an 80% reduction in food imports and a 50% reduction in oil as a result of the collapse of the Russian State and imposition of Western sanctions, the Cubans had to act.


It was decided to show this film after holding a successful inaugural meeting in January 2009 where it was agreed that raising awareness of the impact of climate change was paramount to the new group’s objectives. Participants attending were from a broad cross section of sustainable projects and activities including food growing, sustainable energy, cycling and organic farming to name a few.

Kate Buckley, a member of the group and keen allotment food grower says “anything which encourages people to grow their own vegetables has got to be a good thing – after all, it saves money, the food tastes better and it cuts down on demand for food from overseas thus reducing carbon emissions if done on a large enough scale”.


Anne Law, is another member from “Greengrow”, a workers’ co-operative which has leased land just outside Beccles with a view to establishing a local “vegetable box” scheme. Already, the co-op has established an apple orchard with the help of local people and erected a polytunnel.

So if you have ideas, want to learn more or are involved in sustainable projects locally, why not come and see the film and meet “Sustainable Beccles” members? Light refreshments available and optional discussion follows the film.


Further information from Netta Swallow, 01502 470135 or email netta.swallow@btinternet.com

The Black Bellied Dipper which has wintered on the River Glaven has finally given its favourite locality away and can be regularly found just downstream of the southernmost ford in Hunworth village (Norfolk) in recent days.

In the enchanting 'The Mystery of Marriage' comparisons are drawn between the courtship and marriage rituals of animals and plants with that of humans.

A bumblebee acts as a matchmaker between flowers; the hunting spider painstakingly wraps up a juicy fly ready to bestow upon the first attractive female he meets; the devoted earwig fends off intruders with a nasty nip; even mould is shown as having a particular romantic preference as its spans it spindly filaments in search of the perfect partner.

But in terms of human courtship a good dose of fresh country air followed by a prolonged kiss beside a haystack prove to be the vital ingredients for the production of children. Mystery of marriage solved. (Catherine McGahan)

Working with Local Communities
from Upper Waveney Valley

We work closely with many communities along the Waveney Valley. It is probably best if I set out a few examples to show the range of schemes we get involved with.

This winter we have been working with Palgrave Parish Council and Mid Suffolk District Council to restore the large pond on Palgrave Village Green. Over the years it had become hidden by bushes and young trees that had grown up on its banks. We arranged for a contractor to come in and coppice the growth so that light now gets to the pond and it is again a focal point in the village. The trees and bushes will now be maintained by coppicing every few years.Our volunteers have also helped manage churchyards for wildlife, for example at Scole and Thorpe Abbotts. And we have opened up neglected areas in parishes for the benefit of local people and wildlife. Here are some of our volunteers mowing and raking Scole Bridge picnic site. If your community is interested in working with us on an environmental scheme please give me, Mark Timms a call on 01379 788008.

Warm weather over the weekend has tempted several butterflies out. I saw my first Comma and Brimstone butterflies on Sunday and heard my first Chiffchaff singing on Saturday.