We first came to Norfolk a couple of years ago because 2 of my 8 great-grandparents were born here. 25 % of my genes! Julian also remembered his father speaking fondly of sailing in an area of Norfolk called the Broads.
The Broads is an area of shallow lakes and rivers. People used to believe that the Broads had formed naturally, but in the 1960s a female graduate student at one of the local universities showed that the Broads are an early example of human-engineered environmental change. In the middle ages, the area was inhabited by some enterprising monks who sold peat that they had dug out of the ground. This business was so successful that after a few hundred years they had dug up an area of about 300 square km to a depth of several feet. When sea levels rose a few centuries later, the holes they had dug flooded and became navigable waterways. These rivers and lakes are where my father-in-law had sailed in the 1950s.
Our first visit to Norfolk was a whirlwind two days. Having spent a week this time, we’ve learned that Norfolk is the Newfoundland of England. It’s the butt of English jokes, and it’s considered a “deprived” county by the government. Nor-folk are less well educated, make less money, and die sooner than the average Brit. According to the data, they’re also happier. Wherever we went we found them to be cheerful and helpful, even going out of their way to set us on the right track when we were lost.
Nor-folk are said to be eccentric. Allegedly, the term “Normal for Norfolk” (or NFN for short) was at one time used by medical doctors “from away” to describe these backward and eccentric patients. Capitalizing on Norfolk’s reputation, Monty Python filmed their skit The Village Idiot here.
Norfolk is a place of contradictions, at times stunningly beautiful and at other times faded, grimy and tacky (I’m looking at you, Cromer). But are Nor-folk quirky?
On the one hand, we did see a bare-chested man in leopard print stretch pants cycling down a country lane.
And in the seaside town of Cromer, the hillsides are groomed by free range goats.
Then there are the Broads. The banks of the narrow waterways are crammed with tiny cottages set so close together you must be able to hear your neighbour snore. I think Bryan might be disappointed by Broads’ sailing these days.
And it turns out that it’s a thing to hire a motorboat, dress up as a pirate, and drive up and down the canal drinking beer.
On the other hand, Stephen Fry is a native son, and while he may be quirky, he’s not unintelligent. Nor is Bill Bryson, who chose to live here.
So are Nor-folk quirky? Maybe I’m biased by my ancestry, but, between you and me, I think Nor-folk might just be English.
Comments
I sailed on the Broads 1950 +- – 2 years. Sailing (as against stink boating – very inferior) required visiting when the trees did not have their leaves (no wind in summer and to avoid the inebriated although I seem to remember feeding the birds bread soaked in beer – drunk birds cannot take off successfully- of course as a teenager we had to buy the beer just for the birds. I wonder if they still rent sail boats to 14 year old lads – no adults? I do remember dropping the masts (and sails) to “shoot” under the bridges and the pride in not having to pole or tow the boats. I had not heard about the jokes