Heritage Open Days
Hello, my name’s jessikart and I’m a nosy bollocks. That’s that out of the way. Problem with being a nosy bollocks is that it is exhausting, because you’re always having to come up with excuses to justify why you’re craning your neck to look at something and having to say that you’re ‘passionately interested’ or ‘highly concerned’ or ‘oh, sorry, I must have got lost, silly me!’ in order to have a really good squizz at stuff that’s not on public display. That’s why I love Heritage Open Days (8th-11th September). For four days, all sorts of things are open that wouldn’t normally be, and it’s a perfect opportunity to rubberneck without having to disguise it.
Want to have a gander at behind the scenes at Theatre Royal or the Maddermarket? Go ahead. Did you know that Fat Face has an undercroft? No? Well now’s your chance to explore it. Ever looked at Earlham Hall and wondered what it’s like inside? You can find out on Sunday 11th. Until now, I’d never wondered about Jarrolds roof, but apparently you can get access to it as part of a tour. One thing I did know about is the prison under the Guildhall, and you will prise me from it by my cold, dead hands because I have yearned to get inside it for over a year and it’s open for three days.
Seriously, it’s brilliant. If you’ve ever looked at a Norwich building and thought to yourself ‘I wonder what goes on in there?’ then this is the perfect chance to find out without having to construct an elaborate cover story and/or fake identity and disguise, just in case. Some places need to be prebooked, but a lot of them you can just wander into off the street. If you feel any lingering guilt about being a nosy bollocks, then just tell yourself that you’re being enlightened on the fascinating history and culture of Norwich, and in no way shamelessly indulging in leering all over places you’d normally be escorted out of whilst mumbling something about having taken a wrong turn.
