By Geoff Fisher 
By Victoria Plum
It was wonderful Wally Webb who came to entertain a large audience at the Reepham & District Gardening Club this week. I used to hear his familiar voice on Radio Norfolk, and here he was in person, with his autobiography to sell.
The technology all worked and he rattled through lots of slides of the Broads, boats and Broadland scenes and wildlife. He and his wife have always been keen boaters, and his talk was from a watery perspective.
I found the bridges in Norwich particularly interesting, as they are bound up with the history of this fine city, but also the views are so much more fascinating from the river than the land. You never usually see some of the bridges as they are hidden from the road view.
And guess what? Pull’s Ferry is called after Mr Pull who used to run the ferry, and there used to be a canal from Bishops Bridge to the cathedral, built to carry the building stone which had been transported up the river from France. Queen Victoria was the last traveller on it, after which it was filled in and is now a roadway.
We saw pictures of pike, ducks, mullet, swans and a lovely photo of a pretty otter: what lovely eyes they have. Is their increase in numbers responsible for the dearth of small waterbirds? I’m sure it isn’t, I think otters are all vegetarians.
Next month we look forward to Andrew Brogan telling us the story of Henstead Exotic Gardens at 7.30 pm on Tuesday 18 November in Reepham Town Hall, Church Street, Reepham. With tea, cake and a raffle, this is always an entertaining evening.
The bag sale is in November, too. This is when gardening club members bring any surplus plants, labelled, in a carrier bag, to be sold for £1 for club funds. This is a way of avoiding throwing good plants away and passing them on to new homes. (I have some spare ground elder and bindweed. I will label them, so you’ll know what you are buying.)
Meanwhile, the cyclamens in my garden are looking gorgeous. I do like plants that look after themselves with no effort from me. I brought one corm to my current garden 20 years ago and it must have seeded. But several of the groups I now have began as raffle prizes from Tony’s famous gardening club raffle.
Above: Cyclamen, showing the amazing “coiled spring” stems that surround the flower bud prior to opening. Photo: Tina Sutton
Top image: Wally Webb, his wife Sheri (right) and Reepham & District Gardening Club members Fran Neal (left) and Eileen Lerpiniere (second from right). Photo: Tina Sutton