TaTa, KeKe, Dick and Sarah went on another snowdrop walk - this time at a very unusual church. Built in 1796 on the site of an earlier mediaeval church by the first Lord Suffield, it was one of the first Gothic Revival buildings in Norfolk. The pink walls, blue plaster ceiling and the two magnificent screens give a unique interior, most striking on a sunny day when the light streams through the geometrically patterned windows. "A delightful country version of the early gothic revival." - Sir John Betjeman 1964
The Hazel Grove is an area of consecrated ground beyond the walls of the original churchyard. It is rich in wildflowers throughout much of the year, and is managed as an extension of the award-winning churchyard at Thorpe Market in accordance with advice from the Norfolk Wildlife Trust. There are mature hazel and oak trees, and a pond to encourage birds and insects. The Hazel Grove offers the option of a peaceful and beautiful place to scatter or bury ashes. The tree where Sarah, Dick and TaTa are seated houses a barn owl
and the church hopes a nesting pair will arrive. Even though barn owls have up to seven babies there are only 5000 breeding pairs in the UK. Barn owls have declined in Britain, due in part to the reduction of derelict old buildings, barn conversions, and due to the use of persistent pesticides, such as DDT, which prey consume, and eventually quantities build up in the predator, causing weak egg-shells. Barn owls are considered to be rare and protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 under which it is an offence to intentionally disturb them while nesting. It is estimated that, in a typical year, Britains' 5, 000 pairs of Barn Owls produce roughly 12,000 young and 3,000 of these are killed on roads. TaTa hates to see dead animals in the road and says 'you wouldnt leave a dead person there so show the same respect to an animal' and she is always stopping to pick them up and puts them in the bushes or if they are fresh will bring them home to eat. TaTa says that John Hurt made a wonderful and strange film called All The Little Animals: Bobby Platt escapes an abusive, hateful stepfather who has killed his pets one by one. To save himself, Bobby runs away and meets a strange old man who wanders the highways to bury roadkill animals. Bobby becomes the old man's apprentice and learns to see the world of nature in a strange idyllic way. Mr Summers (John Hurt) as the man calls himself, spends his giving burials to animals that have been killed by cars, a task he refers to as 'The Work'. Eventually, the pair return to London to confront the abusive stepfather.
I love barn owls because they remind me of flying Siamese cats - they are incredibly soft (this is why they can fly silently), have beautiful faces, can see in the dark, love the night, like to eat voles and mice and make gorgeous sounds.
