The Mystery of the Gunton Pyramid

I'm having a bit of a clear out, including four lever-arch files of cuttings on quirky buildings assembled over the last twenty-odd years.
One of the articles that caught my eye was a feature from The World of Interiors from December 1991 about the folly tower at Gunton in Norfolk. The tower was restored as a weekend retreat by the art dealer Ivor Braka, who also recreated the deer park in which it once stood. More recently Braka has done-up the nearby pub, The Gunton Arms, and we had a really lovely few days there last summer. Coincidentally it was already on my mind as Jay Rayner gave it an amazing review in The Guardian on Saturday and I had been dreaming of a return visit.
But back to Braka. The article included a photo of a maquette 'for a stepped pyramid which is eventually to rise eighteen feet high in whitewashed breeze blocks amidst Gunton's grounds.'  I'm sure this must be the pyramid, close to the pub, that was under construction when we were there but I can't find any lurid internet stories of enraged neighbours and planning battles. Perhaps Mr Braka just likes to take his time.
What a great excuse to go back and find out.



http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/feb/16/the-gunton-arms-norfolk-restaurant-review-jay-rayner

Mr Clamp's Ingenuity

Many years ago I spent hours wandering around Askern in South Yorkshire searching for two follies which the great folly expert Barbara Jones had erroneously listed as being in the village (they were in fact miles away in West Yorkshire).
But there was once a wonderful structure in Askern that, if not quite folly, was certainly a great curiosity. Mr Clamp of Askern needed a greenhouse, but being a Yorkshireman had no intention of spending large sums of money. Instead, he collected empty glass jars from his neighbours and painstakingly assembled a 9' x 5'6" greenhouse out of 1,800 jars mortared together.
His work was recorded for posterity by Pathe news in 1942 for one of those quirky "and now..."  stories used to fill slow-news-days.
The film can be viewed on their website http://www.britishpathe.com/video/jamjar-house-aka-jam-jar-house
Let's just hope that when it was demolished all those jars went in the recycling bin.

Ilkley Film Festival - British Sea Power

This weekend the first ever Ilkley Film Festival hit town. The brilliantly organised brainchild of a local schoolteacher was well received and plans are already underway for next year.
A particular highlight for me was the band British Sea Power performing live. In 2013 director Penny Woolcock composed a film out of footage of the British coastline in the archives of the British Film Institute. The moving and evocative images are accompanied by a specially-commissioned soundtrack by BSP.
The film was released on DVD and I have watched it a few times, always spotting some new detail. It was a real treat to see it on a large screen with the band's emotive and rousing score played live.
http://www.bfi.org.uk/blu-rays-dvds/sea-land-beyond