Emily-Rose Thompson

Vince, a food-obsessed cat in Norwich, has been banned from Connaught Kitchen after repeatedly jumping onto outdoor tables to steal customers' fried and scrambled eggs, butter and oat milk. Café owner James Magee has posted a sign asking customers not to feed him. Vince's owner believes steroid treatment for a skin condition may have increased his appetite, while local residents describe his persistent attempts to enter homes and find food.

Matt Stone discovered a fragmented 15,000-word memoir in Sydney written by his late father, Peter Stone, who grew up in Old Catton, Norfolk. Typed in 1998 by Peter’s second wife, Jenefer Warwick James, the memoir recounts childhood life in Norwich and the surrounding countryside during the Second World War, including schooling, farming and influential figures such as teacher Miss Pye. Peter later became a signwriter and musician, moved to Australia with his family, returned to Norwich to search for his birth family, and died in 2021. Matt hopes to have the memoir published.

Damien Smart cancelled his David Lloyd Clubs membership after his wife and children allegedly saw two men undressing outside the male changing rooms at the Norwich club. He criticized the club’s provision of family and disabled changing facilities and claimed staff failed to properly record his safeguarding concerns and charged him for an additional month of swimming lessons. David Lloyd apologized, attributing the incident to temporary changing-room relocations during a £3.5 million refurbishment. The complaint has been escalated to the company’s head office, while the Smart family is considering joining another gym.

BOX22 co-owner Greg Costa is launching Ctrl Room, a new events venue beneath the Prince of Wales Road sports bar, on August 22. The space was funded in part by increased business during the World Cup and features immersive lighting, colour-changing screens synchronized with the lighting system, and a high-end Funktion sound system. Ctrl Room will host music events including a 1990s day party and an Amy Winehouse-themed night, with 60% of opening-night tickets already sold. BOX22 also includes a games room with karaoke pods and darts machines.

Paolo Di Pasqua is expanding his homemade Paolo's Liqueurs business after Benedicts restaurant in Norwich added his Cream of Limoncello to its digestifs menu. Made with Amalfi lemons using a family recipe, the liqueur is already sold at eight locations, including the Norfolk Food Hall and Algy's Farm Shop, and received three stars at the Great Taste Awards 2026. Di Pasqua, who runs the business with his wife Holly, hopes to secure more local stockists after selling 70 bottles in ten days at launch.

Following the death of his friend Steven Morgan, Say It Lad co-founder Danny Tanti is seeking to expand the anonymous voice-note platform’s support for men experiencing mental-health difficulties. Tanti and co-founder Jonny Human use AI to identify recurring themes, including relationship problems, in submitted recordings and signpost users to additional services when needed. Say It Lad is also discussing possible involvement in a Premier League suicide-prevention campaign, while local businesses are helping promote the initiative.

Melanie Woolfenden and her daughter, Rosie Carter, have opened an expanded M&M Aesthetics and Skin Care clinic in Woolhouse Way, Cringleford. The business, established by Woolfenden five and a half years ago, now includes additional treatment space, an outdoor area and a rentable hairdressing stand. The opening follows planning approval from Broadland and South Norfolk Council, while Woolfenden has closed a former Wensum Valley location to focus on the new clinic and is seeking a hair stylist to rent space.

Scratch-card millionaire Adam Lopez has been banned from all 110 Nuffield Health Fitness and Wellbeing centres in the UK after a dispute at the Norwich gym and a profane social media response to a woman he alleged had fat-shamed him. Lopez declined to attend two meetings with the gym’s general manager, denied wrongdoing and said the ban was disproportionate, while an unnamed complainant described his post as threatening and misogynistic. Nuffield Health said it takes both fat-shaming and threatening behaviour seriously. Lopez plans to join another gym in Dereham.

Residents near Magdalen Street in Norwich spent months trying to identify what sounded like early-morning chickens. The noises were eventually traced to at least a dozen gulls nesting on the roof of Looses Emporium, where they become especially loud while guarding their young. Local residents described the birds as a nuisance, while one found the sounds charming. The article also outlines Norwich City Council rules for keeping chickens, including registration requirements, plot-size restrictions and tighter limits on roosters.

Friends, family and members of the local motocross community have paid tribute to Steven Morgan, a Norwich-area motorcyclist found dead in East Hill Woods, Costessey, on August 6. More than £11,000 was raised through GoFundMe in under four days to fund a celebration of his life and support his son, Lincoln. Blythburgh Motocross Track held a minute’s silence and parade lap, while the Norfolk and Suffolk Junior Motorcycle Club remembered Morgan as a passionate and supportive member.