Local News Stories (Suffolk & Norfolk) from 2019 to date

[muzzy]

Latest post of the previous page:

Lowestoft desperately seeking new identity - historian

A historian says England's most easterly town is "desperately" trying to find a "new identity" - as figures show one in four shops are empty. A council report has shown that Lowestoft's "retail unit vacancy rate" is the highest in east Suffolk. Ivan Bunn said he thought the difficulties Lowestoft was experiencing were a consequence of the decline of its seafaring industries - and tourism. Mr Bunn doubts whether the town will return to "what it used to be". The East Suffolk Council report suggested that a rise in online shopping meant people no longer wanted town centres to be "mainly for meeting retail needs". It warned that town centres may have to "shrink" their retail areas in the wake of a "cultural shift" and people wanted a more "holistic social, leisure and entertainment experience".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-67960531

[boatbuilder]

Token issued by Great Yarmouth businesswoman in 17th Century found

A rare trading token issued by a 17th Century businesswoman has been found by a metal detectorist.

Rebecca Murril took over her husband's bakery business in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, following his early death. Coin expert Adrian Marsden said: "With two very young children, she did not shrink from going into trade in what was very much a man's world."

The trading token was found at Filby, near Great Yarmouth, and has been donated to Norwich Castle Museum. The token was found by Graham Gislam during a metal detecting rally on 30 December and Dr Marsden unearthed Mrs Murril's story as part of the Norfolk Token Project.

"We are left with the impression of a clear-headed young woman who did not lack for courage," Dr Marsden said.

He discovered she was married to Joseph Murril, who completed his bakery apprenticeship in 1647. Baptism records reveal the couple had four children, two of whom died by 1653, about the time Mr Murril died. His widow, "with a husband and two children not long dead and buried", took over the bakery business, and issued trading token in her own name between 1653 and 1655. These were essential to the smooth running of businesses in the mid-17th Century during a shortage of officially-issued coins. Merchants issued the coinage for local use, commissioning them from the Tower of London mint where the country's official coins were minted.

Mrs Murril was the only woman in Great Yarmouth to issue a token under her own name out of 43 businesses. They carry the Bakers' Arms and her name on one side, with Great Yarmouth and her initials on the other. The next time she appeared in the records she had remarried fellow baker William Bretting in 1655, who issued a trading token with both their initials.

Dr Marsden said: "There are quite a few bakers in Yarmouth, and I suspect they are not baking bread but biscuit as it is on the menu for sailors." Mrs Bretting outlived her second husband too "and we might presume that once again she continued to run the business she had inherited".

Mr Gislam, from Martham, said he had no idea how rare his find was until Dr Marsden got in touch. "If I kept it, I'd just put it out of the way and never see it again so by donating it other people can see it," he said.


Image: Andrew Williams/Norfolk County Council

More images: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-67924183

[boatbuilder]

Norfolk: L V Bespoke wins trademark row with Louis Vuitton

A family-run business that sells home and garden products has won a two-year trademark dispute against the fashion label Louis Vuitton.

L V Bespoke, which operates in Reepham, Norfolk, applied to register as a trademark but was met with opposition by the French brand. Louis Vuitton said confusion caused by the "L V" lettering could create an "unfair advantage" for the business.

The tribunal rejected the claim as the firms were in "separable" areas.

Victoria Osborne, who founded L V Bespoke with her husband Lawrence in 2020, said they were "on cloud nine". The couple were awarded £4,000 in compensation after spending £15,000 in legal fees to battle the dispute. "Common sense has prevailed given the difference in size between the two businesses. It is such a relief," Mrs Osborne told the BBC. "We're now hoping Louis Vuitton sees it for what it is, in the sense that this never should have occurred."

Mrs Osborne, 48, started the company with her husband, 42, in their garden after they lost their income during the pandemic. She said they took to gardening to pass the time, but found there were not enough decorative products that suited their taste. They applied to trademark the business, which sells handmade garden products, in December 2021 but were soon contacted by Louis Vuitton's legal team.

The fashion house, whose CEO Bernard Arnault has the estimated net worth of about £140bn ($179bn), claimed L V Bespoke would gain an "unfair advantage" due to the public having a "mental link" with the initials and its brand.

Full Story

Who is 'Louis Vuitton' anyway? I must admit I can't say I have ever heard of them - until now. But I don't follow 'fashion', and would associate 'LV' with insurance before anything else, deriving it's trademark initials from it's original name of 'Liverpool Victoria'.

[boatbuilder]

Norwich: Police failed to respond to 999 call from deaths house

Norfolk Police has referred itself to the independent watchdog, saying it did not respond to a 999 call from a house where a family was later found dead.

An emergency call was made from a man in a house in Costessey, near Norwich, at 06:00 GMT on Friday. Police resources were not deployed.

Officers later forced entry to the property at 07:15 and found the bodies of a man, woman and two young girls.

The force has referred itself to the Independent Office of Police Conduct.

It is the second referral Norfolk Police has made to the IOPC following the deaths.

It confirmed its officers were also called to the same house on 14 December as part of a missing persons inquiry and said that particular investigation would now be re-examined.

On Friday, police said they forced entry to the house in Allan Bedford Crescent following a call from a member of the public.

Officers said all four people who died were found with injuries and post-mortem examinations will be held on Sunday to establish cause of the deaths of the man and woman. Post-mortem examinations on the two girls will take place on Wednesday.

Det Ch Insp Chris Burgess said the force would not be disclosing any further information until the examinations have taken place and the causes of death has been established.

He added that they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.

The man found dead in the home has been named locally as Bartlomiej Kuczynski.

BBC News - Norfolk

Also from the EDP

Police 'not looking for anyone else' over four Norwich deaths

Detectives investigating the deaths of a man, his two daughters and a woman are not looking for anyone else in connection with the tragedy.

The bodies of engineer Bartlomiaj Kuczynski, 45, Jasmin Kuczynska, 12, and her seven-year-old sister, and a 36-year-old woman, were discovered at the property in Allan Bedford Crescent at the Queen's Hill estate in Costessey, near Norwich, at around 7.15am on Friday.

Police had received a call shortly before 7am from a member of public who raised concerns for the welfare of people inside. Officers arrived at around 7.15am and forced entry to the address and found the bodies.

Since then, detectives from the Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigation Team have been working to establish the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

Detective Chief Inspector Chris Burgess, who is leading the investigation, said late on Saturday night: “We’ve spoken to witnesses and neighbours, carried out house-to-house enquiries, examined local CCTV and completed initial scene investigations. As a result of this, we’re not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident.

“Post-mortem examinations will be carried out for the man and woman on Sunday January 21 and on Wednesday January 24 for the two girls.

"While I can confirm all four people were found with injuries, we will not be disclosing any further information until these examinations have taken place and the cause of death has been established.

“This is a tragic incident, distressing for all involved and it is clear from the reaction it’s caused a lot of shock and upset in the local community. We’ve had uniformed officers patrolling the area today and these will continue tomorrow.”

Police confirmed Mr Kuczynski and his daughters lived at the address while the woman, although related, was visiting and not a permanent resident at the address.

EDP Report

This incident is all so very sad.

[boatbuilder]

Although not actually 'local' I have posted this here because it has a local connection with CEFAS and 'Endeavour'.

Mystery sea creature discovered in UK waters

A new species of sea slug has been discovered in UK waters. It was caught off the south-west of England from a research ship.

The creature has been named Pleurobranchaea britannica. It belongs to a group found in warmer waters, which could be migrating north due to climate change. With ocean temperatures at record levels there is concern about the impact on marine life.

Ross Bullimore of the Centre for the Environment, Food and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) made the serendipitous discovery. About 100 different sea slugs are found in the seas off Britain and Ireland, but he knew instantly this was something special. "It was like a light bulb going off," he said.

The scientists say the discovery shows we still have more to learn about life in our seas, which are among the best studied in the world. "To find a new species that's not microscopic is quite exciting. It shows that there's still work to be done," said Peter Barry of CEFAS.


Image: Ross Bullimore


'CEFAS Endeavour' entering Lowestoft Harbour. Image: CEFAS

FULL STORY ON BBC NEWS