In his weekly The Bar Man column, Jeff Hoyle shares tales of a friend’s busy visit to Lynn...
The Professor was due to arrive a week earlier, but a combination of circumstances had delayed his visit, and our carefully curated programme of events was thrown into disarray.
What could a week in Lynn in winter possibly offer? We began with a walk around town dropping in to see the exhibition of watercolours at the Fermoy gallery and then the Lynn Museum’s special display related to The Moon.
A quick spot of lunch left time to pop across the road to see the mighty Linnets. That evening we took him to the Gaywood Community Centre, my first visit since I gave a talk there some years ago.
The transformation from the cold leaky room that was into the bright, warm and comfortable one now is truly impressive and with the help of The Prof, we were victorious in the excellent quiz.
The next day required a rather less frantic timetable, so it was off to the Blue Bell at Stoke Ferry for a lovely Sunday lunch.
There is a truly impressive range of events taking place at this community-owned enterprise which can be checked on their website.
Coming up is an Easter Bunny Brunch, which I hope is a description of the event, not the menu!
Monday saw us take in a film at the Corn Exchange while on Tuesday a short train journey allowed us to check out the magnificent cathedral at Ely along with the stained-glass museum.
There was no time to relax, as in the evening we had a talk on Newton organised by the King’s Lynn Society of Arts and Sciences at the Duke’s Head, sadly lacking in cask beer these days.
The next day was the fourth Wednesday of the month so The Prof was dragged along to my regular Marriott’s coffee quiz, followed by a few short hours of recovery before joining the sell-out crowd for the Circus of Horrors at the Corn Exchange, still brilliant despite the sad passing of the founder and ringmaster, Dr. Haze.
Christopher Budd began his series of lectures on film history on Thursday morning and we persuaded The Prof to come along to watch a live screening of Vanya, the National Theatre play starring Andrew Scott.
By this time, I was ready for a decent pint, and the Ilkley Promise at Ferry Lane certainly delivered.
Friday was yet another quiz, this time up at South Wootton where we needed to split the team and only managed second, largely due to my inability to recognise Bond girls or villains. Saturday was the first of the WEA day schools for this year.
After several hours of considering the history and legacy of Sugar and Spice, it was off to Hockwold where CAMRA stalwart Claire was celebrating her birthday.
I was not totally convinced by the band’s thrash metal versions of Ring of Fire and The Lady in Red, but there were several of the 8-pint mini kegs from Swaffham-based Steam-shed brewery to ease the pain.
I have no idea where they were sourced, but a little research should lead you to an outlet for these outstanding beers, perhaps only exceeded in quality by the terrific birthday cake.
And so, The Prof’s visit came to an end and he boarded the train the next day looking rather in need of a rest. Is there any town in England with as much going on? And it continues.
My True’s talk entitled ‘Tales from the Taproom’ is booked up, so will be repeated ‘by popular demand’ in April. When will I find time to read the book club novel?
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