Local Lynx No.151 August/September 2023

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for the kale or broccoli 100g kale (stalks removed/shredded) or 150g tenderstem broccoli 1 lemon (juiced) 2 teaspoons of olive oil to serve a handful of parsley (chopped) a handful of fresh mint leaves (chopped) Instructions Pre-heat the oven to 190 celcius (fan). For the pickled onions, place the sliced red onion, lemon juice and optional white balsamic vinegar into a bowl and toss to combine. Set aside; the longer the onions macerate the brighter they will be. Place the pieces of butternut squash into a large bowl, drizzle over the oil and sprinkle over the sugar, salt and pepper. Toss to coat, then lay on a banking tray, spreading the pieces apart as much as possible. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until darkened and caramelised. Give the bowl a quick rinse and dry; you will now use it for the lentils. Drain the lentils and spread out onto a baking tray lined with kitchen paper. Place another piece of kitchen paper on top and lightly press down; the drier the lentils the crispier they will be. When dry, pour the lentils into your large bowl, discarding the kitchen paper, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle over the hot smoked paprika, salt and petter and toss to coat. Spread out onto a separate baking tray and place in the oven with the butternut squash for the final 20 minutes of cooking time, stirring after 10 minutes. While the butternut squash, and lentils are roasting make the garlic yoghurt. Place the yoghurt, garlic and salt into a bowl and grind over the black pepper and stir to combine. Place the kale/broccoli in a large bowl, pour over the lemon juice and drizzle over the oil and a pinch of salt. Using clean hands massage this dressing into the leaves/ stems. Place in the oven for the final ten minutes of cooking of the butternut squash and lentils. When everything has finished cooking, layer over the garlic yoghurt with the kale/ broccoli, followed by the roasted squash, lentils and then the pickled onions. Scatter over the parsley and mint before serving. Sophia’s suggested sommelier pairing is a white wine from Argentina by Susana Balbo, Crios, made with the fragrant, fruity, creamy and bright, Torrontes grape, which you can also indulge in at Morston Hall or purchase from Adnams. Sophia Williams TALES FROM THE RIVERBANK Since my last column summer arrived with a sustained hot and dry spell, although balanced with some periods of cool wind. We’ve had a pair of gadwall ducks on our lawn, a first sighting for me. The male was in eclipse – a transition plumage after a moult – and I must confess I had to reach for my trusty RSPB guide to accurately identify the pair. Nice to see yet another species using the river. We have had numerous water vole sightings, but it is hard to say if this is one busy vole or several animals because we only ever see one at once. They/it have been feeding in the reed beds alongside our property and particularly outside a near neighbour who regularly hears them munching. It’s great to see them back, and hopefully they will breed and expand their local population. They often swim across the river, and clamber around on the banks looking for food. They seem to have adapted to our presence and don’t immediately hide when spotted. The voles are always under threat however, because in early June I had my first otter sighting for some while. It was a tantalising brief encounter, just a swim past, but it is always exciting to see them. I do feel for the vulnerable prey creatures – like the voles and ducklings – however. An otter must seem extremely fierce to them. In mid-June temperatures got very high and several trout took to sheltering under the ash and alder trees across the bank. Pleasingly these varied in size quite a bit, implying a slight recovery in population. I did contact the Rivers Trust about nutrient levels and they confirmed that was the likely reason for the algae bloom earlier this year. As other plants grow these levels fall, and the algae has largely cleared now. Nutrient levels can be tested, but it very difficult to pinpoint an exact cause as there could be multiple reasons including sewage works, farming or septic tanks. Re-introducing natural meanders like the one between Stiffkey and Warham will help improve water quality long-term. The banded damoiselle damselflies have appeared which is good news because aside from being spectacular they are 24
a good indicator of clean water, as they are very sensitive to pollution. You may have seen them featured recently by Sir David Attenborough in his new ‘wild isles’ tv series about the UK. The metallic blue males dance around trying to attract the metallic green females, who after mating will trap air under their wings so they can dive underwater to lay their eggs in plant stems. A little miracle of nature right in front of us here in Stiffkey. In the same moments I saw the first of this year’s damselfly I had one of those brief periods where the river rewards you for being patient. In five minutes I saw a vole, an eel, four trout and a stickleback. It has a habit of doing this, but those moments are very unpredictable which is part of the joy of just watching and waiting. Good luck to those who do the same. Martin Williams NORTH NORFOLK BOOK WORMS Stiffkey Bookworms May and June Reviews The two recent books discussed and reviewed by the Stiffkey Bookworms were Trespasses by Louise Kennedy (fiction, 2022) and Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker (nonfiction, 2017). In Trespasses, Cushla is just 24 when she meets and begins an affair with Michael, a much older, married man. This alone could have been fraught with complications but there is also the divisive issue of religion. As we find out, Cushla is catholic, and Michael is protestant and Trespasses is set in a small town on the edge of Belfast in 1975. Cushla is a primary school teacher, who helps-out in the family pub whilst Michael is a lawyer who defends young catholic men who have been wrongly accused. This is the author’s debut novel, and she grew up near Belfast. We felt that the author delivered a textured, atmospheric novel which captures what it must have been like to live through the troubles. This is very different to our perceived knowledge of the times, viewed from outside the situation. We are drawn into Cushla’s trespassing into a marriage and separately into the family life of one of her young students. Her personal decisions within the context of the troubles have huge consequences and it is a brutal read in places and you sense it will end badly but hope to be wrong. Kennedy’s writing is vivid in its description of day-today life, her characterisation is terrific and it appears to be an honest account of life at that time. It generated a very interesting discussion of what we remembered of that time from the news etc and the novel links in well to the BBC documentary ‘Once upon a time in Northern Ireland’. We score it a powerful 4/5. Moving on to ‘Why We Sleep’ by Matthew Walker. Walker is an american professor of neuroscience and psychology who is a sleep expert. The book emphasises sleep as one of the most important aspects of our life whilst driving home how we neglect sleep at the peril of our health and longevity. The book makes several fascinating points about how sleep improves memory, creativity, and muscle memory. It links this to how best students should study to improve memory and retention of information. It then details the reasons behind teenagers sleeping habits and how school hours are out of sync with adolescent brains. The book is not too technical and has been written for the layman and Walker encourages you to jump between chapters that interest you rather than reading the book sequentially, which does work well. There are plenty of stories or examples throughout to stop the book feeling too academic. The book was a timely read during the heatwave and generated within our group discussion about sleep habits, caffeine, and alcohol (all covered in the book). Some members enjoyed more than others. It was felt a little long and that some of Walker’s claims were not referenced sufficiently. There was certainly a scarcity of academic references, which is perhaps the negative of trying to be user friendly in the writing. We score it 3/5. Jane Hiscocks CHURCH NEWS The funeral of Angela Martin was held on 12 th May and attended by local family and friends. The annual ‘stalls on the knoll’ to raise money for our church will be held on Sunday 27 th <strong>August</strong> <strong>2023</strong> from 10am until 12:30pm. Our money raising event will coincide with the Stiffkey local history group’s exhibition, ‘Stiffkey on the map’, being held inside our church throughout the bank holiday weekend. We will hold our harvest festival service on Sunday 1 st October at 9:30am. Contributions will be most welcome, be they fresh produce or practically packaged foods and will be distributed to local organisations as appropriate. Work on the Bishop of Norwich's church buildings commission is currently consisting of collating the huge amount of information it has received from those who contributed to the survey. It is on track to publish the outcomes later this summer. A well written guide on the churches commission is provided on the entry page on this link: https://www.dioceseofnorwich.org/churches/ buildings/the-church-buildings-commission/church- 25
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Page 3 and 4: Church Services for Bale and Stiffk
Page 5 and 6: At the time of writing, Holt Medica
Page 7 and 8: position but, as some of you may kn
Page 9 and 10: BALE 100 CLUB Join Bale 100 Club an
Page 11 and 12: labours. Some concern was expressed
Page 13 and 14: Jude Robson £5 Beverley Lawrence
Page 15 and 16: oomy and has sides to it, we can be
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Page 19 and 20: MORSTON REGATTA PARTY The Morston R
Page 21 and 22: in the loft, but then in June 2022,
Page 23: NORFOLK CHURCHES TRUST BIKE RIDE Th
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Local Lynx No.151 August/September 2023

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