Local Lynx No.131 - April/May 2020

even members of his family about it - which made him
suspicious. However he signed it and returned it, and a
few days later a colleague of the first caller phoned to
say that the villager should be delighted with the
proposed offer for the very small number of shares his
wife had held which reflected the fact that the broker‟s
client was prepared to pay “over the odds” to acquire
them. The offer would have been of interest, but when
the villager asked how the payment would be made he
was told that he would first have to pay the broker a
small sum (in fact £1000+) as a “tax” before the broker
could send payment. The villager‟s reply was that under
no circumstances would he pay until the payment from
the broker had been received and banked - at this point
the call was abruptly ended!
This scam failed, but it is easy to see how, for
example, a recently bereaved person in the middle of
sorting out a multitude of issues, and at their most
vulnerable, could fall prey to it. Sadly this was not the
only scam attempt triggered by his wife‟s death. He has
also received several calls purporting to be from
charities (whose names he has never heard of) again
expressing sympathy for his loss and suggesting that he
might like to send a small donation to the charity (£20
or so) in memory of his wife. Needless to say he has not
fallen for these approaches.
BALE
Contact: Jane Wheeler 01328 878656
design@janewheeler.co.uk
HUNDRED CLUB DRAW RESULTS
January 20 February 20
John Wall £25 Dan Moore £25
Ezra Postan £10 Martin Moore £10
Hannah Letts £5 John Wall £5
Maria Postan £5 Anne Peppitt £5
MORE AIR AND WATER
Bale diary, 23rd Feb 2020
Walking up the Sharrington road early yesterday
morning there was plenty of air blasting around my ears –
and the clouds going at who knows how many miles per
hour up there. The gusts down at field level were supposed
to be around fifty three miles per hour; they felt pretty
vicious, and it wasn‟t even a named storm.
The soggy fields won‟t absorb any more water so there‟s
plenty lying in ruts and just anywhere that surface run-off
can't handle, and the next rainstorm adds to it. However we
don‟t have big enough rivers in this part of north Norfolk for
flooding to be serious. Conservation of our chalk streams is
helping - this morning the Glaven was looking twice as big
as normal, after heavy rain in the early morning, but it has
room to overflow into a wide valley of reed beds, sallows,
sedges and rough grass which sops up much of the excess
since dredging was stopped and raised banks got rid of.
Several trees were down, an alder right across the main
12
part of the river, and mayhem in a more congested part of
the river bed, with two more alders gone, one earlier in the
year and one after Dennis. On Monday I had to duck under
it; the path‟s been cleared up now, but it makes the river
gurgle and chuckle pleasantly, and the wren sings along.
The cut alder wood is a bright orange-red. I wonder if it
would dye fibre. At the ford the level was very high. More
wren song too, but mostly it seems the deeper the water
flows, the quieter.
Up in the woods at Bayfield, the trees were very dark
and slick with rain, which had only just stopped as we got
out of the car, the sky clearing as the front swept on south
east. The farrowing huts are all full again – the sows outside,
they don‟t seem to mind the weather – it‟s quite exposed up
there. In the distance you can see the woods that edge
Holkham.
At home I‟ve had a wonderful winter for snowdrops.
They are almost over now, but this time last year they were
brown with the sun and warm weather we had in February.
Wild daffodils are fully out, and all the nettles are coming
up. Some work is needed.
Meanwhile Bims and I go to Holkham for her runs
where it‟s quiet if we follow the horse entrance to the beach.
There‟s been a canine gastro-enteritis virus around, it‟s
really severe, with dogs needing veterinary care for several
days; best avoided if possible. She doesn‟t mind the light
plastic basket muzzle I got her at all. It means she can‟t get
nippy with little dogs and make them squeak, and she can‟t
eat anything untoward which we know does sometimes
fetch up on the beaches here – fish with paralytic shellfish
poisoning, and palm-oil solids.
It‟s more beautiful over on that side of the bay too - on
Thursday the wind was ruffling the little waves, and a flock
of cormorants resting on the beach about halfway between
Holkham and Burnham Overy.
Jane Wheeler
BALE PAINTING GROUP
Annual Exhibition and Sale 6th June 2020
The Bale Painting Group is staging its annual Exhibition
Day in Bale Village Hall from 10am until 4pm.
The group has been painting together since 2015 and we
are excited to be able to present examples of our work,
showing artistic skills developed over the last 5 years, in
various media and on diverse subjects.
There will be the opportunity to meet some of the artists
who will be painting on the day. We will be offering light