Page 6 - Town & Around - January 2023

6 Town & Around January 2023 Tel: 01485 540620 email: editor@townandaround.net
Beautiful tulip fields win award for The Norfolk Hospice
S ince 2021, Tulips for Tapping has become a staple amongst the
springtime backdrop of West Norfolk. So where did it all begin?

Local farmer Mark Eves and wholesale flower growers PS & JE
Ward grow flowers for commercial sale to our major supermarkets.
They are the largest producers of tulips in the UK and are the only
growers to still plant bulbs outside in a field.
Starting life at greenhouse nurseries in Terrington West Norfolk,
tulip bulbs need to spend a year out in the field for the bulb to
strengthen and produce flowers of retail quality. Bulbs are planted out
in early October and by the end of April have flowered producing row
upon row of glorious rainbow colours. It really is a magnificent sight!
However, these flowers and their beauty are just a by-product of the
bulb strengthening process and by mid-May the farmer comes along
with his tractor to behead the flowers, leaving the petals to decompose
into the ground and provide energy to strengthen the bulb.
When summer arrives, the bulbs are harvested and stored in cold parties and VIP Tours. It also saw additions of third party trade stands,
rooms back at the nursery until they can be planted in heated commercial photography passes, event specific merchandise and
greenhouses during the winter - finally producing the tulips you see in corporate sponsorship. Owing to their strong connections with Holland
the supermarket around February time. and tulips, Miffy UK also approached the hospice to initiate a
By 2019, the beauty of the springtime fields had begun to generate collaboration with Miffy herself making an appearance at the field too!
significant local interest with people requesting visits or trespassing Run by hospice staff and a team of volunteers who gave over eight
on the land to get a photo; sparking the beginning of an idea. In 2020, hundred hours of their time, the field was open to the public for ten
Mark Eves approached the hospice to share his thoughts about using days, two golden hour photography evenings and a VIP event. In total
his field of tulips to somehow create a fundraising opportunity. over 10,000 people visited and raised a staggering and unprecedented
Conversations between Mark and the hospice gathered pace and the £93,392 for the hospice.
idea for Tulips for Tapping began take shape. Things came to a The huge success of this unique event prompted the team at The
standstill when the pandemic hit but the idea stayed simmering until Norfolk Hospice to enter the 2022 Hospice UK Awards under the
spring 2021 when the gates to Tulips for Tapping opened with gusto. category of Innovation in Income Generation and I am delighted to
In its first year an incredible 5,630 people visited, raising over £21,000 share the news that they are this year’s winning entry.
for The Norfolk Hospice which was fantastic! For details of the event in 2023, keep an eye out on The Norfolk
By the time spring of 2022 rolled around, Mark and the fundraising Hospice website and social media channels. If you would like to hear
team at the hospice were able to build on the success of the previous more about how you can get involved and join the team of volunteers,
year and opened the gates to visitors from far and wide including coach please visit The Norfolk Hospice website.

Cinderella has her Prince and the Princess has a new roof

he Crowland Crane dominated the On-site with sub-contractors Docherty
Hunstanton skyline as the Princess Roofing and Cladding of King's Lynn, he
TTheatre's roof was replaced in late added: "We are installing thermally insulated
November/early December. panels that also have an acoustic backing
When T&A met the C. E. L. Group site which means it will be more energy efficient
supervisor Chris Elsden on 30th November he and have much better sound security."
said the project would: "Be all wrapped up by
Christmas”

Roofing and Cladding. As the machine
buzzed around the site he explained: "We use
this drone to survey the site and to monitor
the progress; it means we can pick up any
areas of concern safely and it also gives
people an insight into what we do - and of
course it's also a great marketing tool for us."
At the same time the project included
replacing the gutters, downpipes and soffits
on the building that was originally
constructed as Simpsons Hotel and was
rebuilt and opened as a cinema in 1932.
Theatre goers will be pleased to hear that
the temperature control in the auditorium will
be much improved and on the very rare days
that it rains in Sunny Hunny, they won't be
able to hear the rain hammering on the roof!
A drone was used at the site by Ryan
Skipper, the Sales Director of Docherty