Insight into Norfolk village you've probably never heard of

So much regret packed into one wistful line usually reserved for loss of a colourful character who had lived, worked and yarned in the same location for an entire allotment of time.

Thankfully, there’s a growing band of experts and enthusiasts alive to a constant need for turning some of our yesterdays into a rich seam of entertainment and information for tomorrow’s world. 

It’s been an integral part of my work as writer, broadcaster and mardler for over six decades to spotlight creative spirits from literary luminaries like Malcolm Bradbury and Rose Tremain to village chroniclers, dialect and limerick specialists, local history stalwarts and countless authors and publishers  brandishing fresh volumes with that distinctive Norfolk tang.

One of the most diligent disciples of this proudly parochial creed now turns a new page with his long-running writing adventures.

Loddon-based Lin Bensley’s latest volume is his first attempt at self-publishing, a bold route he hopes to pursue further as he explores the history and increasingly valuable heritage of his favourite south-easterly neck of the woods.

The intriguingly – titled News from Nogdam End, is derived from a small hamlet on the northern bounds of Norton Subcourse, where Lin grew up as his parents ran the village shop.

It’s a blink-and-you’ll miss-it sort of spot, never mentioned in guide books, nor marked on tourist maps.

A veritable treasure trove of memories supplied by natives who lived and worked in and around this remote marshland outpost jostle for attention.

Lin is keen to acknowledge how this marathon is very much a collaborative effort and that it’s often the humblest, more ordinary village folk who have the most extraordinary tales to tell.

This soon becomes clear in contributions from Sidney B. Smith, Arthur Broom and the life-affirming childhood recollections of Peter Randlesome.

His animated portrayal of village life for a schoolboy before, during and immediately after the Second World War make for a compelling read.

Among the memoirs, anecdotes and observations, there are also a number by notable residents and onlookers suck as folklorist Jennifer Westwood, ( a popular figure on my Radio Norfolk Dinnertime Show, ) ; author and biographer Janet Hitchman; controversial Edwardian novelist James Blyth ; and that old Fen Tiger and yarn spinner W.H. Barrett.

Blyth’s novel The Smallholder, first published in 1908, and set in Lin’s home patch of Norton Subcourse, underlines the author’s loathing of the Smallholder Act.

He feared it would attract ”townies” and others ill-suited to the life of a market gardener. Blyth also attacked the EDP “and its minions” who he claimed were too blind or mealy-mouthed to write about the barbarity of life in many rural outposts of Norfolk he often witnessed at first hand.

I am grateful to Lin Bensley, a fervent champion of neglected East Anglian writers, for introducing me to Juicy Joe, A Romance of the Norfolk Marshlands, Blyth’s scandalous antidote to any lingering  “good old days” notions about rural existence at end of the Victorian era.

This remarkable novel from 1903  spared no feelings and a stinging preface lining up his colourful cast makes Jeremy Clarkson seem like a good friend to Norfolk.

A real  image-buster of a book.

With a background in the printing world, Lin has been beavering away for  many years as prolific contributor to a variety of national and local magazines.

If at times irreverent, he is never dispassionate when covering such enlightening topics as skiffle, jazz, Scalextric and the observational ravings of that former sausage king of Salford, comedian Al Read,

He’s found room and time as well  for extolling virtues of such home-grown delights as Arthur Patterson (John Knowlittle), Ted Ellis and Harold Freeman, while repeatedly sipping the Boy John’s vintage wine.

His first two books, The Village Shop and The Book of Haddiscoe, deserve renewed  attention  as they also document the passing of so many aspects of country life within living memory that have already gone with the wind.

He looks back with pride and gratitude on those early days sizing up delicacies of the sweet counter and tuning into  colourful exploits of customers with an inclination for parochial story-telling. Y

ears later, after much dental treatment, it seemed only right to seek out  those inhabitants who had thoughtfully committed their memories to paper.

The captivating result is over 300 pages of golden memories  and tingling images from five small villages with big parts to play in Norfolk’s 20th century history.

News from Nogdam End is on sale at £20 in local bookshops. For further information, ring Lin Bensley on 01508 520120 or email; linbenssley@hotmail.com