Windy old Weather

Production Overview

Windy Old Weather was written for the Broads Authority to tour the Broads in 2005 to celebrate the opening of the Wherryman's Way long distance path.

The show was made and devised by Nutmeg Puppet Company, who have been working for the Broads Authority since 1985, producing touring shows about the ecology and social history of the Broads.

Shows are performed on the Broads in the summer holidays and in local schools during terms. We believe this is a unique relationship between a theatre company and a national park.

Nan sings as she hangs out the washing to dry on the windy bank of the river Yare, but her grandson Michael would rather spend his summer holiday playing Tornado Raiders on his computer than listen to her endless tales, of ancient smuggling adventures. As he waits for his new wind-turbine kit to arrive, Zephyr picks him up and carries him off into the past and the future, where the mighty force of the wind fills sails, turns mills, spins turbines, wrecks ships, and carries birds, seeds, and insects 1000s of miles across the oceans. Michael is dropped into Jenny's world of wherries, giants, witches and smugglers, where a good wind takes you where you want to go, but an ill wind quickly sends everything spinning out of control.”...

Notes on the Characters

Jenny - Children in wherrying families often travelled, like Jenny ,on the wherries on their trading voyages, and when they were old enough, took part in the work on board. On the southern Broads, where many wherries traded between Yarmouth and Norwich, some children spent half the week in school in Yarmouth and half in Norwich.

Robert Hales - Born in c.1815 in Somerton, Norfolk, Robert started his working life on a wherry but grew too tall to fit in. After serving for 3 years in the Navy, which he also outgrew, he had to find work in a circus as a freak. Robert finally reached 7' 8" and weighed 33 stone.(His sisters grew to 6'9" and 7'.) People who met him commented on his pleasant and cheerful character.

While crossing to America to join Barnum's circus he jumped into the sea to save a child who had been swept overboard. Back in England he ran a pub in London, but later fell on hard times and as his health deteriorated, made his living on the streets, in Yarmouth and Norwich, selling a leaflet about his life.

He is buried in Somerton churchyard where his grave inscription reads: "Beneath are deposited the mortal remains of Robert Hales the Norfolk Giant, whose height was seven feet eight inches. He died at Great Yarmouth November 22nd 1865, aged 50 years. Reader the dust must be your bed Vain are opposing powers. The wise, the strong and crowned head Must lie as low as ours. This tomb is erected by his affectionate widow."

Wind-Powered Ships

Historic ships When Michael and Zephyr fly back in time they see they see 5th and 7th century Anglo-Saxon and 8th and 9th century Viking sailing ships off the East Anglian coast. These sea-borne colonisers and invaders were skilled sailors and navigators, as they needed to be in the windy and sometimes stormy conditions of the North Sea.

Wherries Wherries were the main trading transport in the Broads from the late goods and 18th to early 20th century until the railways and later roads took over. Around 50-60' long (15m - 18.3m) and 11- 16' wide (3.5 - 5m) they can float in a mere 3' (a metre) of water. Their design is a combination of a Viking longship hull and sails from 16th century Holland. This makes them ideal boats for carrying cargo in shallow waterways on twisty rivers. They were also the main means of transport for people - passengers on a wherry travelled in much greater comfort and security than those who bumped and floundered over the ill-made roads.

Wherries can be sailed by one person, though they usually had two. Many wherrymen were accompanied by their wives who would work alongside the men, it was not uncommon to see children on board as well. It was an overcrowded and primitive life for a family, and children sometimes fell overboard. "Of all the river-folk years ago, the women were probably the most striking. Some were big powerful women. Blue and white wrapper handkerchief over the head with an apron to match." Roy Clark - "Black Sailed Traders" The wherry mermaid The real wherry Mermaid at one time belonged to Mrs Warnes, landlady of the Foundry Bridge Tavern in Norwich. Later the Mermaid was one of the fleet that brought chalk from Norwich and mud from Oulton Broad to make cement at the factory at Burgh Castle.

On the top of her mast she had a wonderful weather vane with a mermaid painted on it. A remarkable street artist had painted this mermaid for her captain in Yarmouth market place. This artist always attracted a crowd when he painted, because - having no arms - he did everything with his toes.

Other wherries to look out for: - Albion (built 1898) - the only surviving sailing trading wherry is moored at Ludham and can be chartered for holidays. Contact the Norfolk Wherry Trust. Albion carried cargoes for the Trust in the 1950s. - Hathor (1905 - Happy centenary!), Olive (1909) and Norada (1912) - one pleasure wherry and two wherry yachts. They are moored at Wroxham and can be chartered for holidays or shorter trips. Contact Wherry Yacht Charter Charitable Trust 01508 520793. See also www.wherryyachtcharter. org - White Moth (1916) - a wherry yacht, available for charter. - Maud (1899) - a privately owned trading wherry - being restored at Upton Dyke. Maud can be visited on occasional open days and will be available for charter when restoration is complete.

The Wherryman's Way

A newly marked 35-mile long distance path between Norwich and Yarmouth, was opened in summer 2005. The route takes you along the route sailed by generations of wherrymen, along the Rivers Yare and Chet. >From Norwich the path runs through Whitlingham Country Park, on the south bank of the Yare: after crossing the Reedham Ferry, it continues to Yarmouth on the north bank through the wide expanse of Halvergate Marshes and along Breydon Water. Leaflet and map available from 01603 610734 and at www.wherrymansway.net

Smuggling and Mill Signals

Smugglers or "free traders" were very active in the Broads throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries. Huge taxes were levied on all kinds of imported goods. Not only tea - as in the show - but masses of other things from tobacco, snuff and alcohol to playing cards, clothing, coffin nails and many foods. The profits were very high so it was worth taking the risk to smuggle these goods. Fishermen went out and collected the contraband goods from smugglers at sea.

Many of the gentry turned a blind eye to this illegal trade since they were the people who could afford the luxury goods. There were sometimes fierce battles between the Customs Officers and the smugglers. The sails of the windmills were used as a highly visible code to warn the smugglers. If the customs officers were around, the sails would be set with one sail pointing straight up, known as "topsail". Mills were also used as places to store and hide smuggled goods.

Windmills and Drainage Mills

- St Glaves Drainage Mill - tiny, timber-boarded mill visible from the road and river, on the east bank of the Waveney just below St Glaves bridge on the Al43. - Berney Arms High Mill - Boats can moor here or you can get a train from Yarmouth or Norwich or walk from Halvergate. This mill was built in 1865 not for pumping water out of the marshes, but for crushing clinker to make cement - there was a big cement factory here. Later it was converted into a drainage mill. Open 1st April-30th Sept for pre-booked groups only. Enquiries 01493 700605. Has wonderful views of the marshes from the top. - Stracey Arms Windpump. On the A47 between Acle and Yarmouth. Open from Easter to 30th Sept 9 am-8pm. Display about drainage mills and views of marshes. Tea-room and shop. - Polkeys Drainage Mill. A fasinating site showing the history of pumping. Four drainage methods are preserved here - powered in different ways - wind, steam, diesel and electrical. The original, wind-powered pump and the steam pump house are being restored.

Supersitions and Wind Lore

It is hard now to imagine the power that belief in the supernatural had over the lives of our ancestors. For them so much of the world and what happened had no obvious cause. Magic was as normal and all pervading as electricity is for us. For them it was quite natural to try to call up the gods or placate them with magic rituals and sayings. The only remnants of this in today's Britain are proverbs and superstitions, but years ago it was taken very seriously.

Whistling on board a boat was generally thought to be appallingly unlucky since it would bring severe winds. But if there was a flat calm then sailors would whistle to try to raise the wind. "It works if you whistle long enough!" said one fisherman when his captain rebuked him for being superstitious.

In witch-hunting times, a woman who whistled were suspected of being a witch or of rousing a destructive storm.

This superstition remains to this day, in a diminished form - in the belief that whistling is unladylike.

Throwing a coin into the water was thought by sailors to be the last resort to raise a wind. As they threw their penny they asked Neptune to blow a little breeze.

In Norse mythology there were runes and spells for everything - battle, fertility, cursing, healing, love, birth and death. In the show, Bobby Hales recites a verse from a long list of runes showing Odin's power. This one is Odin's ninth rune which calms the wind.

Phrases and Proverbs

- It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good - A windfall - something good you receive which you've not had to work for. - To have the wind taken out of your sails. - Vain ambition - like weaving nets to catch the wind

Wind Patterns in the Broads

The Broads don't have a distinctive weather pattern of their own but, being close to the east coast, onshore winds often blow in the afternoons. This is because the sun warms the land quicker than the sea, so warm air rises above the land and cool air from the sea moves in to take its place. In spring and summer, north-easterly winds are frequent in East Anglia because of the cold land and high pressure in Siberia and warm land and lower pressure in western and southern Europe.

Other turbines - Somerton, built in 2000, 65 m high, enough to power 1,400 homes. - Blood Hill - 10 turbines built in 1992. Each turbine is 30m high and together they can power 1,400 homes.

Wind turbines with education programmes

- Eco Tech Centre, Swaffham (built August 1999). Has a 67m high tower, measures 98m to top of blades and can produce enough power for 1121 homes. There is a spiral staircase inside the tower and a public viewing platform just under the hub. On a windy day, the tower sways perceptibly and completely intentionally. See http://www.ecotech.org.uk - Scroby Sands Offshore Wind Farm 2.5km off the coast at Great Yarmouth, installed during 2003,4, stands on a sandbank known as the Middle Scroby Sands. It is one of the UK’s largest offshore wind farms with 30 modern and efficient turbines, providing enough energy to power 41,000 homes. (In Great Yarmouth there were 39,380 homes in 2001). The Site Managers, Offshore Design Engineering (ODE) provide a service to local schools by presenting and discussing various aspects of the project from engineering design and wind turbine installation to the ongoing operations and maintenance. For further information contact ODE on 01493 845100. Or visit the Scroby Sands visitors’ centre on Great Yarmouth promenade next to the Britannia Peer.

Wind in the lives of birds, insects and plants

Plants - Many plants hitch a ride on the wind for reproductive purposes - both to transport their pollen and their seeds. This enables them to travel tens - even hundreds of miles. Willow trees in early summer cause mini snow storms with their flying seeds, and anyone who has taken a reedmace flower indoors knows the aerodynamic qualities of their seeds when they ripen! Spiders - Young spiders make use of the wind to help them leave the nest and travel to new bees. They spin a metre or so of silk and are lifted up by the wind and carried off - sometimes at great heights. Butterflies and bird migration - The wind obviously has a big effect on migrating butterflies and birds. In very strong winds migration stops altogether but in strong cross winds they can be blown way off course. This is how many rarities end up in Norfolk and Suffolk.