Waveney Mushrooms, Flixton, Bungay

Waveney Mushrooms

English Mushroom Producers

Waveney Mushrooms produce, sell and deliver hand picked English mushrooms to retailers, caterers & wholesalers nationwide.

The Mushroom Farm, Flixton, Bungay, Suffolk NR35 1NR
Tel: 01986 782571

www.waveneymushrooms.co.uk

Margaret Mellis, the Sainsbury Centre

World Art Collections Exhibition
Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts

Margaret Mellis - Fisherman 1990 / 1991
Private Collection © the artist, 2008
Photo: Andi Sapey

Margaret Mellis: A Life in Colour

A new exhibition and a new film

The career of the artist Margaret Mellis is the focus of the new exhibition and the new film, Margaret Mellis: A Life in Colour.

The exhibition, which includes excerpts from the film, opens at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, Norwich, on Tuesday 1 July and runs until Sunday 31 August.

The film, produced by Jules Hussey and directed by Sue Giovanni, will première at the Picture House Cinema (Cinema City), Norwich, on Tuesday 8 July as part of the events programme accompanying the exhibition.

The Film
Margaret Mellis: A Life in Colour is a 60 minute documentary film which tells the story of the Margaret Mellis’ life in her own words. The film brings together excerpts from Mellis’ diaries and writing, read by actress Susannah York, with interviews by Professor Mel Gooding (1993 and 1994) for the oral history project Artist’s Lives, which is run by the National Life Stories collection based at the British Library Sound Archive (see Notes to Editors for more information).

“The documentary, Margaret Mellis: A Life in Colour, weaves together the artists’ words with archive photographs and film, new stills, Super 8 and video footage, to produce an in-depth study of Margaret Mellis’ life and work. It is an oral history about a visual artist told using a moving image medium”
– Jules Hussey, Producer.

The Exhibition
A Life in Colour is the first major exhibition of work since Mellis stopped making in 2001, aged 87, due to ill health and features over 60 paintings and sculptures. The exhibition spans Margaret Mellis’ career, from the early still-lifes to the abstract reliefs of the 1960s and the magnificent constructions made from driftwood found on the beach near her Suffolk home. The construction Scarlet Undercurrent, Mellis’ final work, is included in the show.

Margaret Mellis Photo: W.L Bednarski

The exhibition reveals Margaret Mellis’ life-long preoccupations: passion for colour and fascination with form.

“For me, painting is way of making discoveries and of making a thing. When the areas of a painting start reacting together and yet hold together, the thing starts to live. Sometimes it gives a sort of kick”
- Margaret Mellis.

Margaret Mellis’ Life
Margaret Mellis was born in China in 1914 of Scottish parents, and moved to Britain as a baby. Fascinated by colour as a child, her remarkable career began at just 16 years of age when she started studying at Edinburgh College of Art (1930 - 34). As a young woman she was awarded a coveted travelling scholarship that allowed her to travel to Paris and across Europe. In 1937 she held a fellowship at Edinburgh College of Art before studying at Euston Road School.

In 1939 Margaret Mellis moved to St Ives, Cornwall, with her first husband, writer and painter Adrian Stokes. They both became central figures in the St Ives School of artists, which included Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson and Naum Gabo. In St Ives, Ben Nicholson encouraged Mellis to experiment with collage and relief, prompting her to “think in a different way, not in colour, which was natural to me”. This was a formative period for Margaret Mellis, working alongside some of the most influential British artists in the 20th century.

In 1948 she married the artist Francis Davison and in 1950 they settled near Diss in Suffolk, moving to Southwold in 1976. It was after Davison’s death in 1984 that Margaret Mellis embarked on possibly her most creative phase, her ‘constructions’, made out of driftwood found on Southwold beach.

www.scva.org.uk

Active Norfolk events

Events

05.07.2008
Swim Festival - Norwich
The Norwich Swim Festival is for children aged between 7 and 12 who enjoy swimming and would like to see what club swimming could offer them. The festival is run by Norwich Swan Swimming Club and will be a fun introduction to the club environment.

The swimmer will get the chance to improve their technique and swimming skills as well as entering fun races.

Requirements: Swimmers must be able to complete 25m front and back of a recognisable stroke but who do not currently swim for a club.

Places are limited and offered on a first-come, first-served basis, so please book early to avoid disappointment. The festival costs just £1 which is payable on the day.

Parents are invited to stay during the festival to receive information on the club.

Venue: Riverside Swimming Centre, Norwich

Time: 6 - 8pm

Please click here to book a place


06.07.2008
Water Polo Festival - Norwich
The Water Polo Festival is for young people aged 12 - 16 who would like to have a go at this sport. The festival is aimed at swimmers who are able to complete 25m front and back of a recognisable stroke.

The festival is organised by Norwich Swan Swimming Club.

Places are limited and offered on a first-come, first-served basis, so please book early to avoid disappointment. A fee of £1 will be payable at the pool on the day.

Venue: Riverside Swimming Centre

Time: 7 - 8pm

Please click here to book a place


06.07.2008
Swim Festival - North Norfolk
The North Norfolk Swim Festival is for children aged between 7 and 12 who enjoy swimming and would like to see what club swimming could offer them. The festival is run by Aylsham Vikings Swimming Club and will be a fun introduction to the club environment.

The swimmer will get the chance to improve their technique and swimming skills as well as entering fun races.

Requirements: Swimmers must be able to complete 25m front and back of a recognisable stroke but who do not currently swim for a club.

Places are limited and offered on a first-come, first-served basis, so please book early to avoid disappointment. The festival costs just £1 which is payable on the day.

Parents are invited to stay during the festival to receive information on the club.

Venue: Victory Swim and Fitness Centre, North Walsham

Time: 4 - 5pm

Please click here to book a place


12.07.2008
Swim Festival - South Norfolk
The South Norfolk Swim Festival is for children aged between 7 and 12 who enjoy swimming and would like to see what club swimming could offer them. The festival is run by Diss Otters Swimming Club and will be a fun introduction to the club environment.

The swimmer will get the chance to improve their technique and swimming skills as well as entering fun races.

Requirements: Swimmers must be able to complete 25m front and back of a recognisable stroke but who do not currently swim for a club.

Places are limited and offered on a first-come, first-served basis, so please book early to avoid disappointment. A fee of £1 will be payable at the pool on the day.

Parents are invited to stay during the festival to receive information on the club.

Venue: Diss Swim & Fitness Centre

Time: 6.30 - 7.30pm

Please click here to book a place


13.07.2008
Go Paddling Day
Canoe England East are holding a "Go Paddling Day" open to everyone to have a go at activities including canoe polo, kayak and canoe racing and "come and try" sessions.

Date: Sunday 13th July

Time: 10am - 4pm

Venue: Bridge over the Wensum at Swanton Morley

Come and try sessions cost £5 per person. All profits from the day will be donated to the Norfolk Air Ambulance.



20.07.2008
Disability multi-sports tournament
This is a new opportunity for children with disabilities to join a team at a competitive level. The event will be held at Recreation Sports Centre in Norwich.

Times and activities will be confirmed nearer the event. There is a disability multi sports club in each district in Norfolk and the clubs will come together for this event in July to play some competitive games and have some fun! For more information about this event, please contact Matthew Talbot - 01603 697017 or matthew.talbot@activenorfolk.org


17.10.2008
Active Norfolk Youth Games
Last year's event was very successful with over 400 children within mainstream and special schools taking part. This year there will be two events at the UEA Sportspark in Norwich.

The main event is on the 17th October and the swimming gala is on the 20th October. The Active Norfolk Youth Games has been moved to October to integrate with the schools' Partnership Games. Although still separate events, the vision is to link the two events to involve all our young people in sport, whether as part of a disability or mainstream event. The Partnership Games will be taking place at Sportspark on the 20th October 2008. For more information please contact Matthew Talbot - 01603 697017

Active Norfolk
The Turner Road Centre, Turner Road, Norwich, NR2 4HB
Email: info@activenorfolk.org | Tel: 01603 697011

Nurse of 50 yrs invited to Buckingham Palace

Nurse with 50 years’ service to attend Buckingham Palace garden party

A colleague’s encounter with a bacon-slicer 50 years ago has led to a half-a-century of nursing for Caister-on-Sea grandmother Jean Freeth.

Jean at 67, still working today

Mrs Freeth, who is 67 and still working full-time as a TB specialist health visitor, has been invited to a Buckingham Palace garden party hosted by the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh on 8 July – three days after the 60th anniversary of the National Health Service – after her name was put forward by colleagues at Great Yarmouth and Waveney Primary Care Trust.

After leaving school at 15, she worked in a post office and general store for three years and was inspired to enter nursing after escorting a colleague who had cut her finger on a bacon-slicer to a hospital casualty department in her native West Midlands.

Jean in 1962 at the end of her nurses training (she is sitting in the front row, 4th in from the left hand side)

Now based at Northgate Hospital, Great Yarmouth, Mrs Freeth, is believed to be one of the longest-serving nurses in the NHS, having become a student nurse in January 1959.

She will be accompanied to Buckingham Palace by her husband Eric, 71, who she married for a second time in 1990 and who still works full-time as a painter and decorator.

“When I started out in nursing, I wanted to go in to mental health nursing but that would have involved working at Winson Green Prison and my dad wouldn’t let me,” she said.

“I plan to stop working full-time in April next year but will be asking the PCT if I can stay on for a couple of days a week because work has always been such an important part of my life and I don’t want to finish completely.

“I’m still working full-time because I enjoy it absolutely which is what has kept me going all these years. I’ve enjoyed working in lots of different places with lots of different people and when I look back the only aspect of my career I’m not so fond of is the constant reorganisation of the Health Service.

“When I got the invitation through to Buckingham Palace I thought it was a wind-up! My husband’s known about it for ages and has done well to keep it from me.”

Since January 1959, Mrs Freeth has had only five months off, which was when she had her daughter in January 1963. She also worked part-time for three years but that was for 33.5 hours a week – only four hours less than some full-time nurses work today!

During her long career, she has had many different roles in the NHS – including as a hospital staff nurse, district nursing sister and a midwife. She spent three years out of the NHS as an occupational health nurse for a company that made nuts and bolts in Darlaston in the Black Country.

After moving to Great Yarmouth in 1977, Mrs Freeth, who can recall a time when nurses worked 48 hours a week, started to work as a school nurse and then became a general health visitor before moving into her current role. She had previously worked as a TB nurse in Walsall for eight years.

Dr Alistair Lipp, Director of Public Health at Great Yarmouth and Waveney PCT, said: “Jean continues to impress us all with her dedication to the treatment of patients with the serious infectious disease of tuberculosis. She is widely regarded as an expert and has the most experience I have ever come across.

“She works with people who are often living in some of life’s most difficult circumstances – in situations in which many other health professionals would prefer to avoid. She truly deserves this recognition of the long service she has provided to our community.”

When she eventually retires – or semi-retires! – she plans to devote more time to hobbies such as dressmaking and playing the piano which she has had little time for while working full-time.

She and her husband – who have worked for more than 100 years between them – are also planning a trip on the Orient Express. Eric is planning to retire when she does. The couple have one daughter and three grandchildren.

Mrs Freeth, who will be 68 in October, is currently training a colleague to take over her role when she does eventually stand down.

www.gywpct.nhs.uk

Summer Concert, Beccles Choral Society, 5th July

2008 a Year of Change for Beccles Choral Society

Sadly we must announce the departure of Vetta Wise, our very successful director of music. Vetta will be very much missed. She has developed the choir both in repertory and in technique. We wish her well and are sure we will keep in contact with her.

Because of this we are changing our published programme. We were to have performed Handel’s Messiah at Christmas. This is being brought forward to be our summer concert. More details of our concerts are below.

In September we welcome Philip Simms as guest conductor and director for our Christmas concert.

The choir is advertising at the moment for a permanent replacement Musical Director and if anyone is interested they should contact the secretary.

****

The Summer Concert

On Saturday July 5th at 7.30 we are performing Handel’s Messiah in St Michael’s Church in Beccles. This will be with full orchestra and professional soloists.
This will be our last concert conducted by Vetta.

****

Beccles Choral Society

Handel’s
Messiah

Conductor: Vetta Wise
Orchestra and Soloists
Leader: Gregory Eaton

Saturday 5th July
7.30 pm

St Michael’s Church, Beccles

Tickets: £10
Some free tickets are available for students under 18

Advance Booking in Beccles:
In person at Willows (Smallgate),
Gazette Bookshop (The Walk)
Any Choral Society Member and at the door on the day.

By phone: 01502 713476

****

www.beccleschoralsociety.co.uk

Three Bungay businesses short listed for awards

Three Bungay businesses have been short listed for the East Anglian Daily Times Food and Drink Awards and need your votes.

This is the third year of the awards, which from their conception, have grown more than two-fold – this year, consisting of ten categories, which broadly encompasses the food & drink industry in this area of the country.

The objective of these awards is to recognise and celebrate the county's finest and leading purveyors in this ever-growing industry and for Bungay to have three businesses in the final is superb.

They are:
The Castle Inn - www.thecastleinn.net
Humble Cake - www.humblecake.co.uk
and 

Earsham Street Delicatessen

To make it through to the final they all need to get as many votes as possible, and as they are all in different categories they are not competing against one another.

To help them achieve this please go to:
www.suffolkmagazine.co.uk
and click on Food Awards, then Vote Now, and in
Best Food Pub category and pick The Castle Inn, Bungay from the drop down list,
In Best Delicatessen category choose Earsham Street Delicatessen and in
Best Baker select Humble Cake from the drop down list.

We wish all the Bungay business every success.

Val Page
www.bungay-suffolk.co.uk
www.sanderling.co.uk

Beccles Farmers Market, Beccles Heliport 1st & 3rd Saturday Monthly

Beccles Farmers Market

1st & 3rd Saturday Monthly
9:00 am to 1:00 pm

NEXT MARKET 5th July

We have an average of 30 stalls,
selling products that include:

meat, game, poultry (including organic), fish fresh & smoked,
milk, yoghurt, cheese, fresh vegetables, bread, cakes, pies,
hen & duck eggs, take away food, pickles, chutneys & local crafts

PLEASE VISIT OUR WEB SITE FOR A LIST OF
STALLHOLDERS AND THEIR CONTACTS
FOR PRE ORDERS

www.BecclesFarmersMarket.co.uk

Café & BBQ

Ample parking

The market takes place inside a hangar at the Heliport site on the Ellough Airfield on the B1127 road

Beccles Farmers Market
Beccles Heliport
Ellough Airfield
Beccles
Suffolk
NR34 7UH

Google Map

Tel: 01502 476240

* * N E W S * *

Next Market Sat. 5th July


* * N E W S * *

please view our web site for more images of the market

www.BecclesFarmersMarket.co.uk

Bureaucracy stops Southwold amber hunt!

Bureaucracy stops annual amber hunt at Southwold!

An annual amber hunt attracting 400 children has been axed because of safety restrictions.

Children had paid £1 each to search the beach at Southwold, Suffolk, for 12 pieces of resin left by Robin and Astrid Fournel.

No child has ever been hurt in seven years but the Fournels were told they needed to complete a risk assessment, have extra marshals and £5,000,000 public liability insurance.

'Perhaps the coast is no longer safe due to the lack of sea defences! . . . So what's next? . . . Are they going to stop kids building sandcastles because they have not got planning permission?"
– blog-ed

In The Mood, Sunday 13 July, bring your picnic and relax to the music

This Summer come and get . . .

In The Mood
(a trip down Memory Lane)

on
Sunday 13 July

bring your picnic and relax to the live music of

TIMESCAPE

at
Bone Hill, Rouse’s Lane
Off Low Road, Starston

Gates open 3.30pm
Music starts 4.30pm

Tickets
£10 Adults,
£5 U16s
U5s Free

Please phone 01603 506925

Event organised jointly by
Harleston Lions, Harleston Scouts and
Harleston Magpies Hockey Club

insight issue 66 - NHS Mental Health Trust

NHS Mental Health Trust - insight issue 66

Click image to view or download a pdf file

Email us on foundationtrust@nwmhp.nhs.uk

website: www.nwmhp.nhs.uk

Beccles Carnival Weekend of Live Music and Family Fun

www.BecclesCarnival.co.uk

Beccles Carnival Weekend of Live Music
and Family Fun

The Beach joins the Beccles Carnival as our official radio Station this year and will be attending all events over the Carnival weekend. Look out for their presenters, the Beach Bunny and make sure you pick up your free car sticker!

Friday the 18th July 2008 brings you Summer Ska 2 with Headline Act Neville Staple, formally of the Specials and Fun Boy 3. Since 1998 Neville has been on a mission to entertain, successfully touring Japan, South America and extensively touring North America with his own band. It is worth seeing Neville's live performance; his captivation stage presence and distinct voice are well worth it. Catch his show at the Beccles Quay, and you'll get a mix of old favorites plus loads of his brand new original solo material.

Neville Staple has been recording in both the UK for 525Music Productions at Planet Studios, and in Southern California recording and writing.

Monkey Spanner will be playing in support. The band consists of a full Brass Section plus Guitars, Keyboards and Drums. Monkey Spanner will entertain you with classic SKA & 2 Tone hits from the 60's, 70's & 80's. This is GET-UP & DANCE music for audiences of all ages.

The infectious SKA beat always fills the dance floor wherever they play. Monkey Spanner's antics on stage are guaranteed to get the audience involved in a great party atmosphere - There's always someone 'monkeying around' and something happening on their set! Advance tickets £7.50 accompanied under 12’s free!

Summer blues on Saturday 19th July will be headlined by the Blues Brothers and the Bluesettes with a full 6 piece live band including Brass Section. Over the last six years the Band have taken the music and moves of the Blues Brothers to fans all over Europe and the UK. Some of the venues they’ve played include: The London Palladium, The Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Her Majesty’s Theatre, Military bases in Germany, & countless outdoor festivals. It is advisable to get your tickets for these events early, as there is limited availability and are at the discounted price of £7.50 for advance purchases. (Accompanied under 12’s Free) Tickets will be £10.00 on the gates if they’re not already sold out!

Tickets can be purchased from East Coast Services in Beccles, Sound clash of Norwich, Better Leisure of Great Yarmouth, Morlings of Lowestoft and via pay pal on the official carnival website www.BecclesCarnival.co.uk

Our Fun packed programme for all the family during Saturday starts with the annual Teddy Bear Parade, gathering outside the Kings Head at 12 pm. Bring along your best dressed Teddy and parade with our official Radio Sponsor, The Beach Bunny will lead the parade towards the Quay for an afternoon of entertainment with K-Syl-R, including the best dressed teddy competition, Children’s Fancy Dress Competition, races and much more! Free Admission

Sunday will see the annual Parade of Floats leave the Back of Rainbow Car Park into Gosford road and follow the usual route around the town. Line the streets and support your local carnival! Radio Broadland are bringing along the 60th Anniversary Lotus Elise, and the Daleks will exterminate their way through the streets. We have several floats entered already, though there is always space for more! This years Parade is set to be, yet again, one of the biggest ones yet!

Make your way with the parade down to the Quay for an afternoon of Family entertainment with the Lowestoft Dog Agility Display Team, Stocks Fun Fair and much more! Why not enter a team for our Free Tug of War? Registration will take place on the day. Admission £5.00 accompanied under 12’s free (this includes evening entry)

Finish off the Weekend with Live Music from the Austin Beats and our Battle of the Bands Finalists, Culminating with our Fantastic Fireworks Finale choreographed to music, countdown with The Beach, followed by The Austin Beats Second set to round of an excellent Weekend for the whole Family!

For full details of all events during the Carnival weekend 18th - 20th July 2008, and how you can help, sponsor, book a stall plus full programme visit the official carnival website www.BecclesCarnival.co.uk

Exhibits at The UpStairs Gallery, Beccles

Commission Free Gallery, UK
The Upstairs Gallery Beccles

July 1st - 29th
DIANE BALL
Hungate Gallery
A new emerging artist, Diane captures the loneliness of subject matter in vast canvases.

14th July - 11th August
JACKIE COOTE
Featured Artist lower Floor

Mixed exhibitions by local artists.
Open Mon-Sat closed Wednesday 10-4.30pm

Smalltown..bigART
For any information on the gallery call the gallery team on
01502 717191

The UpStairs Gallery
Exchange Square
BECCLES
Suffolk
NR34 9HH

www.theupstairsgallery.co.uk

bigARTgallery@aol.com

A Blind Artist's Vision, Bungay

St Marys Complementary Health Practice, Bungay

St Mary’s (Complementary Health) Practice

St Mary’s Practice is pleased to let people know that we now have Lisa Jones working at the practice on Thursdays doing Hydrotherm Massaging.

Lisa started her practice in 2002 and is pretty busy so we are particularly glad that she has found the time to work with us.

Hyrodtherm is a delicious and relaxing therapeutic massage during which clients ‘float’ on warm, water filled cushions.

Visit her website for more information at www.lisa-jones.co.uk

And while we are on the subject of new arrivals, we have a new osteopath too.

David Keyte has joined the practice. He also works on Thursdays.

David is a man big into sports, some of which he is qualified to coach, so he is particularly interested in treating sports related problems.

www.stmaryspractice.co.uk

All Hallows Nursing Home and Hospital, Bungay

All Hallows Nursing Home
Part of the community of All Hallows. A registered charity no.230143

*24 hour care

*Respite care
*Rooms with en-suite
*Day care
*Minibus for activities and outings
*Meals freshly prepared & cooked on the premises
*Hairdressing , Chiropody, Library, Armchair exercises
*Open visiting

For further information or for a brochure please contact us.

Adele House, 26 St Johns Road, Bungay, Suffolk NR35 1DL
Tel: 01986 892643 Fax: 01986 893733
map

Email:
admin@allhallowsnursinghome.org.uk

Website:
www.allhallowsnursinghome.org.uk

All Hallows . . . where quality counts
Part of the community of All Hallows. A registered charity no.230143

*In-patient beds providing predominantly palliative and rehabilitation care.

*24 hour nursing care to individuals with a physical or sensory disability.

*Busy Physiotherapy department with highly trained chartered and state registered physiotherapists. Open to everyone including private patients.

*Day Care Centre providing an opportunity to socialise with others, crafts, entertainment and bathing services. Open to everyone including private patients.

For further information or for a brochure please contact us.

Station Road, Ditchingham, Bungay, Suffolk NR35 2QL
Tel: 01986 892728 Fax: 01986 895063
map

Email:
info@all-hallows.org.uk

Website:
www.all-hallows.org.uk

Southwold beaches to be replenished!

photo courtesy Keith Moore

Sand levels are to be topped up at the popular Suffolk beach resort.

Natural conditions have been seen as the cause for the gradual erosion of the beaches either side of Southwold's pier, Waveney District Council said.

Now the council is beginning work to build up levels between groynes by pushing back material that has been lost into the sea.

"We have had problems which have seen the beaches lose their sand," Councillor Ken Sale said.

"These works will ensure that they are ready for the summer season," he added.

By rebuilding the levels the council said it hopefully would encourage extra beach material to be deposited naturally.

Areas of the beach are due to be closed between each pair of groynes at a time.

"The tide cycle must be right to complete this replenishment and we have agreed that action needs to be taken on the first available tides," Mr Sale said.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/suffolk

New people onboard at Lowestoft Lifeboat Station

The crew at Lowestoft lifeboat station have gained some new personnel this year.

Paul Gray is the station's new Lifeboat Sea Safety Officer, responsible for local safety and prevention activity including promoting the Sea Check service, giving demonstrations to local sailing clubs and marinas and recruiting other volunteer sea safety advisors.

Meanwhile, Lifeboat Operations Manager Richard Musgrove joined at the start of the year. Richard is the Deputy Harbourmaster in Lowestoft and a pilot in the harbour responsible for escorting large ships into the port.

Richard has a long history with the RNLI, having first joined the Lowestoft crew in 1988. He has also served as Deputy Launching Authority in Lowestoft and Harwich.

Richard says: ‘I am proud to be the Lifeboat Operations Manager at Lowestoft. The town still has an important tie to the sea and the lifeboat station plays a pivotal role in keeping the people of Lowestoft and those that visit safe.'

www.rnli.org.uk

Mapping Norfolk, the Sainsbury Centre

World Art Collections Exhibition
Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts

Photograph of Norfolk by Kabir Hussain

Kabir Hussain
Mapping Norfolk

Mapping Norfolk, a new exhibition of work by artist Kabir Hussain, opens in the Link at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia (UEA), Norwich on 1 July and runs until 31 August.

The exhibition has been inspired by the Norfolk landscape, from the salt marshes of north Norfolk to the Broads and the flatlands of the Fens. At the centre of the show are large works in bronze that form a ‘sculptural map of Norfolk’.

Photography, sculpture and drawing by the artist will also be on display. The exhibition is curated by Atsuko Kikuchi, Curatorial Fellow in Cultural Diversity at the Sainsbury Centre.

“The Norfolk landscape expresses its energy in an embracing way, an impression reinforced by Norfolk’s big sky. It has a subtle and confident character”
– Kabir Hussain.

Kabir Hussain was born in Punjab, Pakistan, in 1960. At the age of 7 he emigrated to England with his family and grew up in Yorkshire. His fascination with the landscape stems from his memories of the terrain he saw from the aeroplane on this journey. His experiences of landscape have been diverse, from the altiplano of Peru to the craggy terrain of Eritrea through to the Thar Desert of India. These have informed his sculptural practice.

Work at the Foundry

Having lived in Kings Lynn since 2001, Hussain feels now is the time to explore the countryside he calls home. He explains that “Wanderlust takes you to faraway places. The buzz of a new and alien environment can be enthralling. Over time you become more appreciative of your immediate surroundings, as I have of Norfolk after living here for 7 years. I feel a familiarity with it and have an attachment to it that I wish to build upon. When I first visited the county in 1995, I was struck by its expansive nature. Now I feel is the time to adopt it for formal study”.

In preparation for the exhibition, Kabir Hussain has embarked on a number of journeys on land, by sea and from the air. He began in Kings Lynn where he took a fresh look at some of the routes that have become familiar to him over the years. From there he moved down the coast to explore the mud flats of Snettisham and the expansive views seen from locations which include Ten Mile Bank, Salthouse Church and Sheringham. Hussain then went inland visiting Thetford Forest and the Norfolk Broads.

Research to inform the exhibition has been carried out on a wide range of topics by Kabir Hussain and the curator, Atsuko Kikuchi. Literature and archival materials have been studied and interviews conducted with local residents and experts on topics from history and archaeology to wildlife. Norfolk organisations that have contributed to the research include Norfolk Wildlife Trust, the Norfolk Coast Partnership, Norfolk Museums and Archaeology Service, Norfolk Heritage Centre and the School of Environmental Science at UEA.

Kabir Hussain is a master bronze founder, with over 17 years of experience. His new works that form a ‘sculptural map of Norfolk’ have been cast at the AB Fine Art Foundry in London. Hussain uses a combination of bronze, wax and paper to form delicate textures and shapes giving them the immediacy and intimacy of a watercolour. Displayed with the bronzes will be sculpture, drawings and photographs by the artist.

“We hope the exhibition will inspire people with a sense of community, encourage lively debate about our local environment and give people a fresh perspective on the Norfolk landscape”
– Atsuko Kikuchi.

Accompanying the exhibition will be a new website - www.mappingnorfolk.com - which will feature work by the artist and interviews with local residents and experts. People will also have chance to take part in an online mapping project to create a map of Norfolk with their videos and photographs. For information about events accompanying Mapping Norfolk visit www.scva.org.uk or telephone 01603 593199.

www.scva.org.uk