Vegan cakes and Christmas swims in Hunstanton

Two weeks with no column to write for my favourite local paper leaves me wondering how best to make a start in 2024. Let me kick off with a vote of thanks to Sainsbury’s in Hunstanton for stocking ‘Plant Pioneers’ vegan lemon and vegan chocolate cakes in their ‘Free From’ section, along with vegan mince pies.

To remind those responsible for stocking the shelves that this gesture should be for life and not just for Christmas, please buy a vegan cake in Veganuary, even if it is only to donate it to the nearest Foodbank.

Having confessed to having a sweet tooth, I must admit that I still prefer homemade vegan cakes, including the banana cake baked for me by my niece, Janet. She was in Hunstanton with twin sister Judith on December 30 to swim in the icy cold waters of The Wash, with their daughters Eleanor and Elodie, along with cousin Michele - who came up with the mad idea of a winter swim in the middle of a heatwave last summer! It came as no surprise to me when our daughter, Caroline, who resides with her family in Muscat, chose to film her cousins taking the plunge without getting even her own feet wet!

While the swimmers were disrobing against the backdrop of the sea wall, I was reminded of the time in 1956 when, while working on the new north promenade for R Robinson & Co Contractors, one of my tasks was to seal the gaps between the large sections of concrete. The original strips of sealant have been washed away, causing me to wonder just how long it will be before the concrete itself suffers a similar fate.

Concrete groynes were erected to build up sand as the first line of defence against the sea, but lack of maintenance has left enormous gaps between the bedrock and the groynes, resulting in scouring that has exposed rocky outcrops. These caused more problems for the intrepid bathers than the temperature of the water.

Back in the 1970s I used to launch a Wayfarer dinghy at the very spot where the swim took place, with no problems resulting from a rocky surface. I must remember to ask the cousins if they still look back on those trips in the Wayfarer as fondly as I do.

Given a bit more sand, perhaps there is still time to make some more happy memories of dinghy holidays in Hunstanton, possibly starting with my birthday next month, or in April when Caroline will be back in town with her camera but still no swimming costume...