Video: Paraglider lands on famous Norfolk tower

I am not for one second condoning what this paraglider has done but you have to admit the bird-eye views of King's Lynn he has captured are pretty amazing. This dare-devil spends the majority of his time trying to land on the famous Campbell's soup tower and after several failed attempts, he manages to land on the iconic landmark at around the 2 minute 40 second mark.

The video was uploaded onto social network website YouTube following the paraglider’s stunt on Sunday and around 1,500 people have viewed the five-minute video but the video has been criticised by some viewers with one person claiming the paraglider is "another high profile newsworthy death waiting to happen".

Other viewers have praised his flying skills and the quality of footage over the West Norfolk market town. The paraglider’s manoeuvres did, however, prompt a member of the public to call the emergency services at 11am claiming he was "out of control" and heading for the River Great Ouse. This sparked a frenzied search by police and the Hunstanton lifeboat. The RNLI lifeboat and hovercraft were then stood down at around 12.20pm.

The empty Campbell’s factory is currently being demolished with its tower due be brought down by a controlled explosion in mid-January to make way for a business complex including a new Tesco Extra store.

So long and thanks for the fish.! Seal release on the Norfolk coast

It was still pitch black when I woke up on Wednesday morning to head to Snettisham to watch seven seal pups be released back into the wild. I'm not going to lie to you, it was hard - almost impossible - to get up at ridiculous o'clock to make my way to the coast but it was totally worth it and made for a cracking online story and picture gallery and looked brilliant on page 3 in today's EDP.

To be able to watch the animal care team from the Hunstanton Sea Life Sanctuary release the common seal pups and watch them dart straight to the water and to freedom was absolutely brilliant and I could see why the staff were buzzing with excitement when the seals raced to the water.

The seals had been found on beaches around the Norfolk coast in June and July this year and spent the summer and start of autumn rehabilitating at the centre and I was surprised how quickly they got used to their new environment after their release at 7.45am given the amount of care they all had.

The first seals to arrive at the centre were Robbie and Lisa who were both found on Snettisham beach on June 18. Pups Vicky and Katy were the next to be rescued on June 26 and 30, respectively. Vicky was only six-days-old when she was found her on Heacham beach with a small wound above her left eye whereas Katy was showing signs of dehydration when she was found on Snettisham beach.

Staff at the centre then rescued one-year-old Linda who was found on Brancaster beach on July 12 with several cuts on her belly and rear flippers and still bleeding. Two weeks later, pup Simon was found at Cley-next-the-sea, near Holt, with a number of injuries to his body, flippers and around his eye.

The final seal pip to be rescued and rehabilitated was Tracey who was found at Burnham Ovary-Staithe on July 30 with multiple cuts on her flippers and mouth.

While I watched the seals embrace life in the wild I also had a quick chat with Hollie Stephenson, who is part of the animal care team, who pretty much summed up what everyone else was thinking. 

“We’ll miss them because we’ve got to know them all so well but at the same time it is be great to see them go back into the wild where they belong," she told me.




Joker: Me chatting to Hollie on Wednesday

 
The release of the seven seal pups was also aired live on Daybreak TV and if you click in the below picture and look very closely, you can just about see me stood in the top right-hand corner!

Where's Wally: Were you able to find me?





Around the World in 80 Dishes = Brilliant lunch!

I had the absolute pleasure of joining hundreds of people from across West Norfolk in attending the Around the World in 80 Dishes event in King's Lynn at the weekend - mainly because I knew I would be getting a free lunch!

Walking into the Corn Exchange on Sunday afternoon the first thing to hit me was the brilliant aroma of culinary delights from across the globe shortly followed by the array of colours, outfits and smiles around the venue. After a quick butcher's hook around the event, I then began talking to some of the stallholders whilst tickling my tastebuds on dishes from South America, Asia and beyond.

Among the 25 displays were members from the Filipino Association of West Norfolk dressed in brilliant traditional costume and all looked fantastic. Emmanuel Cabales was part of the large group representing the Philippines at the event and, while serving me some Filipino food, he said to me: “We enjoy coming here because we like to share our culture and it’s good for people to try something a bit different, ask questions and engage with us.”

Nearby there were colourful foods from Brazil, Portugal and Mexico on offer but before venturing to those stands, I was distracted by Brazilian Adriana Beard who was not only heavily pregnant but was wearing a skimpy Samba outfit!
She told me: “Everybody is enjoying getting a taste of Brazil and it’s nice for me to be representing my country while making some new friends.”

Meanwhile I caught up with Leanne Johns who was representing a country a little closer to home - Wales. She made some Welsh cakes for the event and they seemed to go down really well with everyone. I'm not so sure the Welsh rugby union jersey she was wearing went down as well mind!

On leaving the event, now in its eighth year, I could see why so many people return to the event every year. Not only can you fill your boots (and belly!) with free food from around the world - most of which you may not have tried before - but also engage with different cultures.

You have the opportunity to ask questions about food, costumes and customs and, more importantly, make these small groups in West Norfolk feel part of the communtiy. There were also plenty of competitions and demonstrations to make sure the whole family has a brilliant FREE day out and I really hope organisers get the funding to bring it back to King's Lynn again.