Our great friend Mark Kitto explores the history between China and the United Kingdom at the time of the Boxer Rebellion with surprising relevance to today’s unfolding drama of China’s plan for world domination.
Highly recommended and good for teens too.
The region’s garden enthusiasts visited Creake Abbey’s Plant Lovers’ Day in their droves on Saturday 29th May 2021 as the sun shone after the coldest spring since 1922. Around 950 visitors enjoyed a wide variety of plants from 27 specialist plant nurseries throughout the day.
Diana Brocklebank Scott, founder of Creake Abbey, said: “We’ve all been desperate for the sun to shine, to get into our gardens and to see our plants grow. The sun appeared just in time for our Plant Lovers’ Day on Saturday and we had a great turnout. Our nurserymen have had a tough year due to the pandemic and then faced further challenges due to the cold spring. We were delighted to see so many shoppers laden with plants and a thoroughly happy day was had by all.”
Figures from the Met Office’s National Climate Information Centre recorded April 2021 as having the lowest average minimum temperatures since 1922. These figures also showed that April had the third lowest average UK minimum temperature for the month since records began in 1884. This frost-laden, chilly month with low rainfall was then followed by the highest levels of rainfall in May since records began, posing unique challenges to gardeners and plant nurseries across the region.
Liz Spanton of Mandy Plants based at Little Snoring, said: “The cold spring this year has left all our bedding plants and perennials about a month behind. Our sales to garden centres and farm shops have been really affected. We specialise in tender Mandevilla so we have had to ramp up the heating to get them looking as they are today. Thankfully, now the sun has arrived, our sales have kicked off at last.”
Chris Davey, of Seagate Irises in Long Sutton, Lincolnshire, said: “We grow our Irises ‘hard’ outside so they’ve not had any help this year with the cold spring. As a result, they’re over two weeks behind. They’re normally perfectly in flower for Creake Abbey’s Plant Lovers’ Day, but not this year!”
Once again, Creake Abbey’s Plant Lovers’ Day raised £3,200 including donations for Wells Community Hospital Trust at Wells-next-the-Sea through the event, bringing the total raised by this event since its inception 14 years ago to £28,000.
Sarah Peberday, General Manager of Wells Community Hospital Trust, said: “Wells Community Hospital Trust is delighted to be chosen again to be the beneficiary of the 2021 Plant Lovers Day at Creake Abbey. After a difficult year, the proceeds will be utilised to support our new carer and toddler groups, helping to build back health and happiness in our community.”
Wells Community Hospital Trust has been providing health and wellbeing services in Norfolk for more than 100 years. Alongside clinics, the hospital is spearheading services for the community including a digital hub, community café, parents and toddler groups as well as a program of exercise classes. Registered charity no. 1154540
For Creake Abbey’s Plant Lovers’ Day 2021, 27 specialist plant nurseries from across East Anglia and beyond showcased their finest perennials, exotics, bulbs, shrubs, trees and climbers. From olive trees, bamboo and grasses to carnivorous plants, roses and wild flowers, the buzz of excitement was palpable as visitors found an unusual specimen or something irresistible for their garden or as a gift for a loved-one. As always, nurserymen were happy to answer questions and provided advice on a wide range of high-quality plants, sold at reasonable prices.
Strict Covid-safety measurements were in place to ensure visitors and stall holders felt safe. There was a simple one-way system in place and visitor numbers were monitored carefully within the event area. Visitors were asked to wear masks and respect social distancing rules across the venue’s outdoor location on the breezy north Norfolk coast. Busy shoppers were fuelled by takeaway coffee, cake and light meals sold by Creake Abbey’s Café & Food Hall.
There’s nothing better than seasonal asparagus, British grown…Norfolk grown! Here is my favourite recipe from Darina Allen of the Ballymaloe Cookery School near Cork, Ireland.
Asparagus and Spring Onion Tart – Serves 6
In Ireland asparagus is only in season during the month of May – you may be fortunate enough to get a few early spears towards the end of April, and a few stragglers in early June, but it’s best to stop cutting it then to allow the remaining spears to flower and the fern to feed the plant for the following year. This tart is therefore a seasonal luxury and simply not worth making with asparagus that has been flown halfway across the world. The pastry case needs to be well cooked before the filling is added, cook it on a lower rack, rather than too high in the oven.
For the shortcrust pastry
110g (4oz) plain flour
50g (2oz) salted butter
water or a small organic, free-range egg (you will not need all of the egg)
For the filling
15g (generous 1/2oz) salted butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
250g (9oz) onions, finely chopped (I use about half spring onion complete with green tops
and half white onion)
150g (5oz) asparagus, trimmed and with ends peeled
3 organic, free-range eggs
110ml (4fl oz) cream
110g (4oz) Cheddar cheese, grated
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 x 18cm (7 inch) quiche tin with a pop-up base
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
First make the shortcrust pastry. Sift the flour into a bowl and rub in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Mix in enough water or a mixture of beaten egg and water to bind the pastry, be careful not to make the pastry too sticky. Chill for 15 minutes.
Roll out the pastry into a circle large enough to line an 18cm (7 inch) quiche tin, not more than 3mm (1/8 inch) thick. Line the pastry case with greaseproof paper and fill to the top with dried beans. Bake blind for about 20 minutes. Remove the beans and paper, egg wash the base and return to the oven for 3–4 minutes. This seals the pastry and helps to avoid a ‘soggy bottom’.
Next make the filling. Melt the butter, add the olive oil and chopped onions; sweat with a good pinch of salt until soft but not coloured. Cook the asparagus in boiling salted water for 3–4 minutes until al dente, then drain. Refresh in cold water and then drain again. When it is cool enough to handle, cut into 1cm pieces. Whisk the eggs in a bowl; add the cream, sweated onion, almost all of the cheese and the cooked asparagus. (You may want to save a few of the tips to arrange on top.) Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
Pour into the pastry case, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and bake for 40–45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre just comes out clean. Serve warm, with a good green salad.
Recipe from Simply Delicious Classic Collection by Darina Allen published by Kyle Books
After a longer birthing process than any of us expected the new website is live.
We know you will find a few issues and we welcome your feedback - do email us with your thoughts on info@creakeabbey.co.uk. One of the most important functions, the search function, needs to learn our site so this won’t work too well just yet.
Huge thanks to the following:
Kevin Taplin of TenSevenNine/ TenFeetTall Agency
Finbar Mulholland of The Little Web Company
Emma Mortlock
Ellie Balmer-Walters
Cat Scoles Photography
Matthew Clayton Photography
Andy Allard Photography
Jake Sugden Photography
All the tenants at Creake Abbey
Diana’s long suffering family
We hope you enjoy it!
Image © @AnthonyAllard58
The abbey ruins remain open 24/7 but please keep your four legged friends under control and on leads.
The Café remains closed as do the independent shops and services on site as per the Government lockdown. The Food Hall is closed but can be opened for private shopping by appointment. Contact Diana on 07801 418907 or on info@creakeabbey.co.uk. The shop has good stocks of Ethnic Fusion curries, Brick Pizza, frozen ready meals, staples such as pasta, passata, dried goods, snacks and crisps, flour, preserves, cereal, wine, beer and spirits.
As soon as we have further information on when we can re-open we will post it here.
Thank you for your ongoing support.
We are delighted to announce that the current exhibition of Norfolk wildlife paintings and sketches in the Creake Abbey Café has now been extended till February 2021.
Living and working in Norfolk, Chris Orgill is a painter inspired by wildlife and landscape.
For many years he worked as a designer and conservator at Nottingham’s Natural History Museum helping to restore and conserve the museums huge collection. A short period as a graphic designer followed before he decided to devote himself full-time as a painter. Whilst museum work continues on a freelance basis, he has now moved close to the North Norfolk coast to sketch and paint the county’s wildlife and countryside.
Chris has exhibited with the Society of Wildlife Artists and has had several successful solo exhibitions; he has provided illustrations for numerous books and magazines including bird identification plates for ‘Birds of the Atlantic Islands’ published by A & C Black and was a winner of ‘British Birds’ magazines national competition ‘Bird Illustrator of the Year’. His recent work is featured in a new book ‘Red 67’ published February 2020 by the British Trust for Ornithology, highlighting bird species of special conservation concern.
The paintings in this exhibition are the result of sketches and paintings made from observations and encounters in the field. These first-hand encounters are a vital and enjoyable part of the creative process, sketches can take the form of detailed field paintings, simple scribbles or even written notes, in fact any information that can be gathered to provide reference for larger studio paintings. As the number of notebooks grow, only a few of the sketches actually become more resolved paintings and whilst the initial intention is always for the field sketches to act as reference, the freshness and immediacy of the sketchbook work increasingly becomes an end in itself.
Pencil, watercolour and crayon are used for field sketches, oil or acrylic for larger, studio-based work. The medium used is often determined by the subject matter, if quick drying glazes are needed then acrylic is used, oil is chosen if a brighter, blended effect is required.
Further work, particularly sketchbook pages can be found on Twitter: @chris_orgill and Instagram: chrisorgillartist
Works and prices can be found here:
List of paintings for Creake Abbey – Reduced prices 1 Sept 2020
List of paintings for Creake Abbey – Reduced prices 2 Sept 2020
