On a recent visit to Acle, Norfolk, I had the pleasure of sampling a local beer that was being displayed at a small country market (in the Parish churchyard of St. Edmund no less.) I had to stop and visit with Jason who displayed a fine list of local brew. He gave me a brief history of the brewery.
The Tipples Brewery of Norwich offers ten fine beers with another five that are produced for special occasions. Some of the beers have intriguing names such as "Lady Evelyn which is one of three beers named after ghost stories from the Norfolk Broads. It’s made with a single type of malt so the ale a very pale golden hue. It gets a generous hop addition which lifts the delicate malt flavor. At 4.1% ABV, the beer has a crisp, dry finish which lingers long after the glass has been drained. This beer is available year round."
Another favorite is Topper which is a stout with lots of great flavor and I must not forget Moonrocket with has a heady 5% ABV. A new beer is scheduled for release called Black Forest at 6.3% it is flavorful, strong dark ale.
There are simply too many beers to describe here in detail, but if you’re in Norfolk...try visiting the breweries in Acle and Norwich. For more information go to: http://www.tipplesbrewery.com/
The Argo Gold Mine is a must to see if you are visiting Colorado. For years and years, I have driven by and only last week ventured inside. There is a great presentation about gold, silver and other precious metals which is followed by a self guided tour. The mine celebrated its 116th anniversary this year and although much of the 4.16 mile mine is now closed, it is still a fascinating place to visit. The finale is a lesson in gold panning. To actually see flecks of gold in the bottom of the pan as I hit “pay dirt” was very exciting...and I got to keep it! By the way, there is also a museum and a gift shop at the mine.
The mine’s success began with Samuel Newhouse, a young Englishman who, with two other men began the tunnel with $100,000 seed money. An issue of the Idaho Springs News reported on February 10, 1893:
“The object of the corporation is to run a line of railroad west from Denver, through tunnels and over the range to the coast.”
The following excerpt is from the Denver Post, September 24, 1930. “Samuel Newhouse, one of the great mining men of Colorado and other Rocky Mountain states, died Monday evening at his apartments in the Chateau De Marnes, near Paris, France...he was 77 years old.
For 51 years, the name of Samuel Newhouse in mining circles has been one to conjure with, and since the boom days of 1879 in Leadville he made many millions in Colorado, Utah and Idaho. For many years he had been a resident of Salt Lake City but was a resident of Denver from 1888 to 1896.”
Over the past 15 years, I’ve published eight books on travel, local history and historical fiction. Several years ago, after speaking with family members in England, a name popped up that I hadn’t heard in ages. It was the dreaded name of Sawney Bean, a wicked and despicable Scottish folklore character from the 1600s. After researching Sawney and his clan, (the BBC did a documentary and tried to locate his cave) the inklings of a story began forming. The first book of what has become a trilogy, Forbidden describes Catherine MacDonald, who becomes a nun after being left by her mother at a priory. After an unusual encounter with a young woman she undertakes a journey to Scotland where she discovers what really happened to her mother, and the horrifying life she endured just to stay alive.
In the second book, Damaged, Catherine tries valiantly to restore her respectability but is thwarted at every turn. Tainted by her mother’s legacy, she is shunned by the church, and by many of her friends. Unhappy and disillusioned with her life, she decides to embark on a journey to the New World.
The final book, Expectations, will be published in the fall of 2014.
On a recent visit to Acle, Norfolk, I had the pleasure of sampling a local beer that was being displayed at a small country market (in the Parish churchyard of St. Edmund no less.) I had to stop and visit with Jason who displayed a fine list of local brew. He gave me a brief history of the brewery.
